


Calling Umbra

by Radiklement



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, Horror, Smut, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2018-12-26 08:21:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 35,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12055041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Radiklement/pseuds/Radiklement
Summary: Luna's death has left him broken inside. Is life even worth it? Putting up with Gladio's bickering is almost too much, until Noctis realizes hope isn't entirely gone. Pryna might have died, but Umbra is still alive. Umbra might take him back. All of them. Going back means sight for Ignis, while it's Noctis' last chance. Or more torments? Only time will tell...





	1. Prologue - Despair

 

Luna was gone. The light at the end of the tunnel. The gentle words in their notebook, always ready to pick him up. His princess. When he closed his eyes, he could almost see his dream again. Could it be called a dream? Hadn’t it been a nightmare? What would have happened if he’d manage to reach her?

The blue flowers dancing all around her, a raging sea of petals. She was slipping away, fading. She was gone. Like the tears in his eyes. He still ached all over and sometimes, it was hard to breath. As though he was still drowning. As though he could still see her, at arm’s length, reaching out for him, a gentle smile on her face. He’d just wanted one touch. The right to look her in the eyes and to have her looking back for more than a second. To feel her gaze on him. Have a taste of her smile. To caress her hair and maybe, just maybe hold her closer than friendship allowed.

His heart ached and bled. His mind was nothing but confusion. His body moved, almost on autopilot. He couldn’t smile when Prompto tried to joke. Couldn’t hide the hurt when he saw Ignis fumbling around with his cane. And he barely controlled the anger he felt every time Gladiolus chided him for being too slow or too brooding.

His Luna was gone. Leviathan had forged the covenant with him, but at what price? Hundreds of people had perished, Ardyn had stabbed the Oracle, Lunafreya was…

He wanted to crawl back in his bed and howl in pain with Umbra held close until his throat would be too numb to utter a sound.

Remembering the dog made him realize something. For an instant, the pain receded. The train shook around him and he instinctively looked for Ignis, hopping the man hadn’t fallen from the sudden movement. His advisor looked fine, well, as fine as he could be. Noctis tried to follow his previous line of thoughts. Their dog. Her dog. The last of the pair. What if he called Umbra?

_If I go back and warn her…_

Could it be that simple? Umbra could take him back to Lucis, but maybe also to Altissia before the tide mother was even summoned. This mean he could still see her. This mean she could still be waiting.

_Does it even work that way?_

He needed to talk to her. Face to face. They’d been separated for 12 years. Writing back and forth. Missing each other. And all he’d get was a knowing look?

_I can’t let it end like this._

…

When the train finally stopped, the guys were shocked to see Noctis leading them right back towards the tracks.

“Why do you think we made this whole trip?”

“I just want to test out something, Gladio, alright? The mines aren’t going anywhere.”

“But…”

Noctis halted and turned on his heels, glaring back at his shield’s angry eyes.

“You keep asking me to act like a king. I don’t want to order any of you around, but if you refuse to follow, I’ll command you to.”

“You know being a king is more than just…”

Noctis snapped and grabbed his collar, yanking him down to his level.

“I’m sick of hearing it, man. Follow your king or find a corner to sulk in until we get back.”

Gladiolus bared his teeth while Prompto dared asking the question that was already on Ignis’ mind.

“Getting where?”

“We’ve never tried it before, but…” He wondered how he could explain the powers a simple dog held. Gladiolus would never believe it, despite everything else they’d seen.

A passerby made Ignis stumble, the advisor not moving out of his path quickly enough and seemed ready to pick up a fight before to realize the state the man was in. Noctis’ fists clenched even tighter at the sight. How fair was that?

The man had already given up his entire life for him, and now…

“It’s easier if we just try it. You guys follow me.”

The walk didn’t last long, despite Gladiolus mumbled complains about delaying the inevitable, Prompto making sure no one else bumped into Ignis on their way to the train’s chambers.

“You want to rest up? We’ve been doing nothing but…!”

“I don’t think that’s what Noct have in mind,” Iggy objected.

And soon enough, the soft bark of Umbra appearing in front of Noctis proved him right. Gladiolus crossed his arms, while the prince scratched the dog’s neck.

“Good boy. I need you to take us back, Umbra. How far back can we go?”

Turning his head around, Umbra sat down, the white marks in his fur shining for an instant.

“What the…?”

Noctis blinked and saw two paintings in his mind. One was of Altissia, before that Leviathan strike. One was of Lucis. For an instant, he wondered if he could go far enough to save his father too, but the painting turned clearer and Insomnia was a crater of smoke on the map.

 _Altissia_ , he thought bitterly. _This time I won’t fail her._

Gladiolus and Prompto were both feeling disoriented as the travel happened. One instant, they were standing in the noisy train station, and one blink later, they opened their eyes on Altissia’s radiant streets.

Water was running in the canals, gondolas passing by, the sky bright and the sun up high. It was nothing like the destroyed city they remembered. But the most disoriented of them had to be Ignis, who was suddenly missing his cane and could open both eyes. The light felt too strong, but after blinking madly, the advisor raised one shaking hand to his face. The scars were gone. And the darkness with them.

“What sort of magic is this?”

Noctis had turned on himself, taking a good look around and smiled as he realized that Ignis was back to his old self.

“It really worked. We’ve travelled into the past!” he marveled.

“What?!” Gladiolus exclaimed.

“It’s something Umbra can do.” He tried explaining.

“Travelling through time?” Ignis whispered. “Why would our own state change?”

Prompto shrugged, raising his empty hands in helplessness.

“Why didn’t we try it before?”

“I never saw the use. And there’s a limit to how far Umbra can take us. But since your wound only happened after Altissia’s destruction…” Noctis told his advisor only to be interrupted by Gladio.

“This makes no sense. We have to be hallucinating.”

“But if it’s real, doesn’t talking of the future put everything in jeopardy? Or can we influence things? And what about events? Can we change our bets at the coliseum on a specific day?” Prompto mused.

“Money is the least of our concern. I don’t know what the rules are…” Noctis admitted.

Ignis crossed his arms, trying to contain his excitement at seeing again. The sky looked so blue. He didn’t dare to close his eyes even for a second, but the question that followed needed to be asked.

“If we go back to the present, I’m still going to be blind, right?”

Noctis swallowed, registering the very light tremble in his friend’s voice. This had to be torture for him.

“I don’t know, Ignis. I wished I had the answers, but I can’t go back now. I came here for a reason.”

Understanding dawned on the three men.

“Lady Lunafreya.” Prompto whispered, his eyes darkening.

Gladiolus rolled his shoulders, eyeing their surroundings dubiously. He felt out of his element and his anger was kicking back, almost impossible to control.

“We can’t turn back time.”

“What’s wrong with you?! This is my chance to make things right! Luna didn’t deserve what happened to her.”

“Yeah, and so did Iggy’s uncle, Prompto’s parents and my old man. Will you go back for them too?!”

Umbra was still standing close by and whimpered at the violence of the accusation, his ears lowering on his head. Noctis felt his throat tightening.

“If I could I would, but Insomnia will still have fallen if we go back to Lucis.”

“Because your dog can take us back to Lucis too?!” Prompto asked.

They were all overwhelmed and starting to gather quite a lot of attention from the passerbys.

“We should take this somewhere else,” Ignis cautioned them.

It was a pity he was still the most rational of them, considering the fact he was miraculously sighted again.

“We should go back to the present to make sure we know how this whole thing works first. I don’t want to stay stuck.” Gladio observed.

“Or we could fall in a never-ending loop. You remember that movie we saw last year?” Prompto added.

“Guys, stop! We’re not jumping back and forth and…”

“Noctis!” Ignis cut him off. “I understand that talking things over is the last thing you want to do right now. But we need to find our bearings. And I’d rather have this conversation in private.”

They rented a room in the Leville, Umbra apparently refusing to leave them. The dog sat by Prompto’s feet during their two hours talk.

The newspaper Ignis had picked up on their way in was the date of their arrival in Altissia. Looking through their stock, they noticed the weapons bought after the catastrophe were still in their possession. That alarmed Noctis, but the guys managed to keep him quiet long enough to get a few answers from him. Luna hadn’t given him much details about this power Umbra had. She’d insisted it might help him in revisiting places he’d missed as he rushed along his travels.

“How long can we stay?” Gladiolus asked

“I don’t know.” Noctis sighed.

“Does time stop in the present when we go back?” Ignis inquired next.

“Yes, from what I’ve gathered.”

“What about time here? Is this like an alternate reality of the past?” Prompto suggested.

“No. At least I don’t think so.”

“How else can you explain that we still have those weapons and new potions?” Gladio pushed forward the idea.

“You might already have Leviathan ready to be summoned.” Prompto sighed.

“Even if I did, I’m not summoning that… thing.” Noctis snarled, ready to run off into the street

“Way to disrespect a god.”

The talk went on, making the prince dizzy. They kept on suggesting crazier theories and for the nth time, he wished Umbra could talk back and answer in his stead. The dog had to know the limits of this whole travelling in time thing. After one hour and a half of this, Noctis finally lost his nerves.

“Guys, stop beating around the bush. You’re all trying to prepare me in case this can’t work, but my mind is made up already. We can at least try. Is it so selfish to want a chance to save her?”

His voice almost broke and he gritted his teeth, excepting Gladiolus’ angry reply. Much to his surprise, it was Ignis that answered him first.

“No, I don’t think you’re being selfish. But I can’t help but be worried about this. Those powers are suddenly really convenient. Is it really Umbra, or could it be the chancellor messing around with you, like he did back in the train?”

“I swear, I didn’t suddenly make this up. Umbra could have taken us back in time at any point… At least, from the moment we’d reached Cape Caem...”

“Then why did you keep it from us?” Gladiolus shot back.

“Because I didn’t want to look back when I was this close to seeing her!” he retorted, his fist hitting the side table hard enough to make the glasses jiggle together.

Prompto wrung his hands, his leg jumping nervously while Gladiolus looked away, finding it too hard to see Noctis’ pain. Ignis ran one hand through his hair, not caring for how messy that would make it look.

“We need to find the limits of this thing.” He started. “And as much as I don’t want to tell you this, you can’t get your hopes up, Noct. We have no way of knowing the events of the last covenant are going to take place again if we stay.”

“Couldn’t we run into ourselves? Like our past selves?” Prompto asked.

“Highly improbable, otherwise, I would still be blind. If anything, we’ve merged with our past selves’ bodies. I can’t believe I’m saying something as ludicrous.”

“So what, you want me to take you back to the present because this is too much to process?!”

“Yes!”

“No!” came their opposed answers.

“I think we should go back at least once,” Ignis suggested. “If only to confirm a few things.”

“So what, we get a mission done around here, go back to the present and come right back to see if the mission is still completed or something?”

“I feel a headache coming.” Gladiolus complained, getting up from his chair. “But I think this is the most logical thing you’ve said in a while.”

Noctis wanted to protest, but his friends had just learned that time travel was possible. It was normal that they didn’t want to jump into things without knowing as much as they could. Last time they’d done so, half a city was destroyed.

“You’re not going to knock me down and drag be into that mine once we go back?”

“I know I’ve been a pain in the ass lately, but I’m not about to sink that low. Especially if I see that time really stops in the present. Although I won’t let you run away. We’re not spending years here.”

“If I can just save Luna, it will be enough.”

How to do so was an entirely different story. But he would see it through to the end. This time, he wouldn’t let her drown. He’d rip into the first secretary’s manor estate if he needed to. He’d come back as many times as it would take. If he could be selfish about one thing, it had to be this.

To be continued…

 


	2. Finding her

It was nerve-wrecking for Noctis to go with how his friends wanted things to be. Not to look for Luna the minute they arrived in Altissia. He remembered the very feeling in his heart on the day he’d first set foot in the city. He was excited like a schoolboy facing impending summer vacation. Almost frantic and doing everything he could to keep it down. The situation was still as serious. But Prompto, Gladio and even Ignis were all acting as though the wedding was surely going to take place once the new covenant was done.

Luna’s voice would finally reach his ears, not carried on paper anymore, and every promise in their notebook…

He’d been nervous. Impatient. _Overwhelmed._ Ready to rush down every street, unable to register the details of the canals they went through, barely answering to the guys small talk. There was a single name on his mind and it was even worse now.

“Maybe we should try swinging by Lucis? Run our test out there first?” Prompto said.

“No delays.” Noctis objected.

“How can there be a delay with time travel?!” Gladiolus retorted, without as much bite as the previous time.

The shield was still shocked by the whole thing, while Ignis turned his phone around in his hands, staring intently at a digital map. There was no wifi around, so a GPS wasn’t an option.

The tracking of goblins around the city wasn’t exactly the most inspiring hunt they’d been on. For starters, Altissia was like a maze. One set of stairs, a turn, and boom, a sudden wall or a street turning into a canal without any warning. Even Ignis was getting confused, but he blamed it on regaining his sight. There were no cars around this place, boats far more useful and Noctis had wondered if Cid was there or not, waiting for them in Regis’ boat or hanging out in some pub. But the boat was on neither of the docks they passed by.

They were about to start arguing after hitting another dead end, only to hear hissing and screech noise, soon followed by a horde of goblins. The fight was over in a flash, the ugly creatures far too weak to present a real threat to either of them. It was still good to work as a team, because since the Leviathan covenant fiasco, they had barely trained together. Noctis had had trouble summoning his royal arms without wondering if he shouldn’t have done better on his first try. If it hadn’t been for Luna, he’d never won against the tide-mother.

The thought made him wonder if he was strong enough to even try and save her this time around. Shouldn’t he go out and train some more? But more travelling back and forth in the fabric of time would only put more stress on his friends.

“That makes seven of them, right?” Prompto asked him.

“Yeah… We should report to our tipster,” he answered, trying to regain his sense of direction.

“Things must really have gotten bad for the daemons to show up in this town despite the repelling lights.” Gladiolus commented.

Noctis could only agree with his bodyguard on this. The Scourge was turning into a nightmare.

…

Umbra met up with them in the Leville, making the guys wonder how Noctis was able to contact the dog without so much as a whistle.

“You’re sure you wanna go back?” the prince asked them.

“We need a clear understanding of our options. Or as clear an understanding as we can get.” Ignis stated.

“Alright. Let’s go back Umbra.”

A bark and almost as quickly as the first time, they found themselves stumbling on the single street of Cartanica station. Ignis’ scars were back and for an instant, he felt the panic surging as he blinked his right eye a bit too quickly, desperately trying to find the pictures that had been clear as day...

“Hey man, it’s okay…” Prompto tried to comfort him.

“I’m fine,” he retorted, but his breathing was too fast and he didn’t brush off the hand that awkwardly clapped on his back.

Gladiolus didn’t know what to do with him. The poor man barely knew what to do around either of them at this rate. Too many people had died on his watch. Luna dying had thrown back into his face how fragile and mortal Noctis was despite the collection of powers the young man had gathered.

“Ask someone the time.” The advisor reminded them.

“You four just got off this train,” the hotel manager told them when asked. “Careful of not staying in the sun too long,” he added, clearly thinking they were a bunch of weirdos.

Noctis walked up to an empty bench by the side of the station, Umbra following closely, as if he knew they still needed him. Ignis stayed up, refusing the coddling his friends were giving him and crossed his arms, jaw set firmly. He looked even stiffer than usual.

“Okay guys. We had a full afternoon and part of the night in past Altissia, and time didn’t pass here. Which means we won’t delay anything by going back.”

“But we still don’t know if the changes we make to the past are permanent.” Gladiolus pointed out.

“What if they’re only permanent for us?” Ignis observed.

“Luna has to be able to travel via Umbra’s power too. It’s as much her dog as mine.” Noctis opposed. “We won’t know for sure unless we try. And if I leave you back here, time will pass for you and not for me.”

“You’re not leaving anyone behind. We started this thing as a team.” Prompto remarked.

“So we go back?” Gladio deduced. “That Camilla lady didn’t let you see your Oracle the first time around.”

“I won’t be asking this time.”

There was a dangerous look in Noctis’ eyes. As if he was ready to try anything and risk everything. Prompto swallowed nervously.

…

Ignis tried to brace himself for it. He didn’t open his eyes immediately. He tried to feel the tug of the broken and melted skin on the left side of his face as he twitched his muscles. Tried to determine what was happening to him during the brief travel. It was like an absence. Everything was dark and empty, a jumble of noises and scents he couldn’t recognize unless he took time to focus on each and every of them one by one. And now the sounds were all wrong. As though an ambient noise covered it. But it was the redness of the light through his eyelids. A noise in his sight. A scent stuck in his eyes. He looked around him. Saw the paved streets, the sun reflecting on the water.

This wasn’t going to last, so he had to absorb everything he could. To replace the last pictures burned on his retina. But he still needed to blink. Every time, those mili-seconds seemed to last too long. Darkness wasn’t welcome. And somehow, as he tried to stay standing as straight as before, he understood what the fear inside was. He wanted to get lost among those streets. He wanted Umbra to run away and never come back. Because going back to the present, his present, meant he’d be blind again. Unreliable. Broken. Unless they could save his eyes too. But he didn’t want to hope. Hoping meant welcoming more weakness and he had felt weak enough during the last few weeks.

 _Just take what you have now_ , he told himself.

“Iggy?” Prompto asked.

“Have you been skipping meals?” the advisor shot back.

“You must be itching to cook us something new, huh?” Gladio laughed.

Noctis didn’t know what to think. There was unease in each of his friends and he was too anxious himself to be of any help.

“Was that test enough? I don’t think we should go back and forth more than we need to.”

“It’s refreshing to see you so eager…” His shield observed.

Ignis didn’t like the looks Prompto was sending his way. He wasn’t one to depend on others, being the most reliable member of their party.

“We need to figure out a plan before to rush anywhere. To determine what happened when.”

“I just want to know where Luna is. We find her and we snatch her away.”

Gladiolus bit his tongue, knowing the prince was in no shape to be teased.

“And then what, can anyone from this time go to our present? It would be the future for them. I mean her. My head hurts.” Prompto complained, gripping his skull with both hands.

“I’ll start by taking with her.” Noctis declared.

It didn’t take them too long to locate the first secretary’s mansion. Knowing when they were was another story. They’d looked for the boat in the docks and hadn’t found it. Cid wasn’t supposed to leave so fast. Calling people they knew didn’t work, but the sheer distance combined with the frail balance of the satellites keeping their phones working sounded as good an explanation as time travel for the radio silence. They could contact each other, which was already a good thing. But could they believe the date and hour on their cells?

“This is quite puzzling. How about we check if that hunt is still complete?” Ignis suggested.

And as a matter of fact, it was. Or maybe the tipster didn’t need their help for it anymore, since goblins didn’t roam the street in this timeline.

“There could be multiple timeline. You remember that show we watched last year?” Prompto insisted.

Noctis was adamant on meeting Lunafreya, and as much as the others were worried about his reaction if he was to lose her again, they followed him up to the first secretary’s estate. The guards outside warned the prince Lady Camilla was too busy to meet him. Passersby couldn’t be bothered with questions and as Prompto mentioned how weird Cid’s absence was for the nth time, Noctis snapped. He warped to a railing, jumped up a balcony and warped again, his friends aghast as he broke every rule a visiting prince had to follow in a foreign country ruled by one invading empire.

“What does he think he’s..!”

A guard seemed confused and Ignis was quick to shut up Gladiolus’ outraged exclamation. For reasons the strategist couldn’t explain, no one seemed to care for the sudden warps. Everyone went on with their life, passing around them as though they were mere passersby themselves.  The guards only minded them if they were directly addressed and that meant Noctis might just get inside undetected.

But the apathy looked like a warning. This was the past, but like Prompto had said, it wasn’t forcibly their past. If they’d seen each other sitting at a restaurant’s terrace for lunch, Ignis would be convinced. But Umbra’s power might only be to give them a reflection of the past. Suspending them in time and stimulating their brains into thinking they had travelled back. Which didn’t explain his sight. Or the fatigue he felt after walking all over the city gathering intel.

 _Never explain magic with science or logic,_ he reminded himself.

Prompto, Gladiolus and Ignis walked away from the entrance, whispering to themselves:

“We need to find a way inside and catch up with him before he does something even more inconsiderate,” Gladiolus declared.

“And how do you suggest we…?” Prompto’s voice died down as he noticed the look the king’s shield was giving him.

“You should be small enough to struggle inside through a side window. I can launch you high enough to reach that bridge they made two stories up,” Gladiolus insisted, his imperious index pointing upward.

Ignis scowled, but didn’t interfere with the plan. They needed a way in, and moreover, a way out. Noctis couldn’t cause a political incident, even in the past. The empire had waited for the smallest sign to strike back at the prince. How were they supposed to know they weren’t being watched at this very moment, with the troops under Ravus Nox Fleuret’s command waiting to rain fire and hell on Accordo?

…

Noctis slipped into an empty room, phasing through walls to search the place faster. Luna was Accordo’s “guest”, but he knew she was their prisoner. All the MTs patrolling the hall was only a confirmation. The empire refused to let her walk too far and couldn’t possibly release the security around her now. It was hard to tell how she’d even managed to sneak away and into Insomnia while he was on the roads, pining for her, ignorant of the horrors happening back home.

Her voice as she spoke of hope and a future for the world before every citizen in Accordo was imprinted in his mind. Strong, pure. Like the words she used to comfort him in their letters. He couldn’t go back to silence. He would drown in all the syleblossoms of his recurring nightmare.

_She was waiting for me. Always waiting for me._

Until he’d grow up enough, until he was strong enough to play his role as chosen king, so she could play her own role as his link to the Astrals. Never waiting for him to save her, never even expecting him to. All those years for a thousand words and one single glance.

He nearly stepped into Camilla’s office and phased right back, starting to wonder if he’d search the other rooms as methodically as he’d hoped. Luna had to be here. If she wasn’t, what was the use even lending him Umbra’s help?!

Noctis quickly went back on his steps, trying to confirm the number of floors in this building. He was already desperate when he’d decided to give his crazy idea a try, but he didn’t want to give up yet.

He broke the fourth ether’s flask, evading more MTs and stepping into a new room, as richly decorated as the others. This estate was nearly as bad as the Citadel when it came to secret rooms. His eyes fell on white fabric and platinum hair, turning wider as he held his breath. A white dog was lying by her feet, the Oracle huddled in a love seat, fingertips nearly blue, skin too pale and thin, veins showing through. Her eyes were closed and her chest slowly went up and down, following her breathing.

For an instant, Noctis couldn’t believe it was her. Truly standing across the room, fast asleep but alive. His feet couldn’t move fast enough, the smile on his face was certainly too eager for a first meeting in 12 years. Pryna looked up, ears standing up on her head as she recognized him. Her movements were slow as she walked around, giving him the space to kneel in front of Luna’s seat. He thanked the Six a second, reaching out to her wrists, gently shaking her awake. Her skin was cold to the touch, and she looked fragile as her eyelids parted open. Eyes red. Lost. A gasp rose from her lips, which he covered with one hand, instantly shushing her down.

MTs were just outside the door.

“It’s me,” he whispered to her.

“How?! Why are you here?” Luna muttered back.

Her eyes filled with tears and his heart clenched in answer. A thousand words needed to be said and their hands tentatively held as their eyes remained locked together. He wanted to pull her in an embrace, to check her pulse and cry and laugh. She wanted to touch his hair, stroke his face, bear her heart to him. But the situation called for swift actions before someone noticed his intrusion.

“I can’t explain here.”

“You can’t take me away, Noct.”

“Like hell I can’t!” he retorted, pulling her to her feet with more force than intended.

She blinked in shock and nearly fell to her knees, her legs too numb to hold her. Instantly, Noctis’ arms were steadying her, the half embrace as foreign as it was welcome after all this time apart.

“Luna?”

“Why didn’t you warn me?” she asked.

“Warn you?”

“I didn’t intend for you to see me like this,” Lunafreya sighed.

And as much as he wanted to shrug it off, there was something wrong with her. She felt too light, she was thin, thinner than in her recent pictures. Dark bags circled her eyes.

“Can this wait until I get you out of here?”

“I have a speech to make tomorrow,” she objected, her hands pushing against his shoulders.

He’d be damned if he’d let her away from him now that he’d found her back and held her even tighter, while still keeping her at arm’s length. Luna frowned in confusion, turning her own statement around in her head.

“Or was it yesterday? There’s been something wrong with time lately…”

“Was there? Maybe you can clear up a few things for us then. We travelled back in time with Umbra.”

“You wha…?!”

She nearly screamed this time, the surprise turning into apprehension and brought one hand to her mouth, her legs numb for an entirely different reason. A shiver ran through her, Noctis doing his best to hold back the whole reason of his travel. He didn’t want to freak her out.

“So, I died,” Lunafreya stated. “During the covenant, I guess?”

Her voice was cold and even, nearly resolute. Noctis’ emotions were ready to run wild, his heart a quivering, aching mess. From up close, he could tell she had been in no shape to face an Astral, let alone confront the tide-mother.

“I’ll tell you everything you want to know, but only if we get away from here first. I can’t…”

Her tears rolled down as she saw the pain in his eyes, mixing with the need to hold her safe and sound. How much she’d longed for his arms, to see him face to face again. And now she knew why she’d never gotten the chance. They just weren’t meant to…

“I really can’t lo…”

Her fingertips silenced his plea, brushing his lips, lingering on his chin. He still looked so young.

“I’ll go with you. But I might not…”

Her words failed her as she tried to convey the sad truth. Noctis wouldn’t hear it. It was too soon. Maybe she could permit herself this hope, even for only a few hours? Pryna whined at their feet, distressed by the conflicting emotions in her mistress.

“Are you strong enough for this? I have a few elixirs on me,” Noctis offered.

“I was just tired. I’m…”

A violent cough hacked through her lungs, bending her in two and the prince could almost see the truth for what it was. A few strands of hair stuck to her face. Her forehead was too warm for comfort.

“You need a doctor,” Noctis stated, worry laced into every gesture he made toward her.

His hand replaced her hair, ran down her neck to trace comforting circles over her back. Her breathing calmed down, her cheeks flushing a bit. She didn’t want to be treated like a doll, or something that could break. Not by him.

“I can follow you, Noct.”

He wanted more of his name on her tongue, with the delightful way she toyed with the nickname. Heck, if time went by differently around here, he might even have the time to reacquaint himself with her properly.

“I won’t give you a chance to fall behind,” he told her. “But you don’t have to play tough anymore, okay?”

“I wasn’t playing…”

“I know, Luna. Just let me do the saving this time. Be like a prince for once…”

Her smile erased the dark hollows on her face.

“I’ve been wishing to be with you for so long,” she admitted, squeezing his hand.

 _I’ll keep you with me this time,_ he swore to himself. _We’ll get you fixed and better and nothing bad will ever reach you again._

It was a childish promise, but he was still much more child than man in his heart. This time around, things would be different. He’d do everything else the Astrals expected from him, he’d get over the other losses.

_Let her stay alive. Without her light, I’ll never find my path._

To be continued…


	3. Be with me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst!!!!! And confusion. I have the impression it’s the best way to describe this chapter. I really wanted to produce a new chapter for this story. We have fluff in there, if you bear with me through this roller coaster of emotions. The chocobro have a really light participation here, as Noctis and Luna tries to clear a few things up. Enjoy!

Her hand was frail beneath his. Her shoes hadn’t been designed with running in mind and it was only because she insisted that he didn’t haul her on his shoulder and make a run for it with a few warps. She looked light enough for him to pull it off, but Luna wouldn’t force all the efforts on him. It was already a lot that she’d agreed to follow despite having the impression she was shirking on her duties. Prompto popping his head past a door and waving them to a balcony suite was the second best surprise of the day for Noctis. Pryna followed and instantly recognized the gunman, emitting a low but happy bark as he lifted her in his arms.

“You’ve really grown, girl,” he bemused, scratching her head before to give a sheepish look to Luna. “I didn’t mean to do that, I just really love dogs.”

“And all type of animals,” Noctis added.

The teasing came naturally and the light but genuine smile on Luna’s face made him feel so much better. This had been all he wanted. A real reunion. The chance to present her to his friends. Footsteps echoing down the hall brought them back to reality and Prompto held Pryna closer, as though to protect her, Noctis instinctively putting himself between Luna and the hallway.

“This way, guys,” the gunman declared, taking off into a run.

Luna was already out of breath by then and Noctis apologize before lifting her in his arms as gently as possible. She was far too light for comfort and his throat tied up at the idea she could already be sick. Was that what she had tried to say earlier? Was that why she let the Hydraen talk back to her, why she didn’t hold on until…

_Focus._

Luna’s hand was clinging to his jacket and her head kept bumping against his chest. He wanted to take the time to wonder how soft her hair felt, he wanted…

_Focus!_

His legs were on fire as they reached the small window by which Prompto had snuck in. The gunman was already half out and both men helped Luna out, the princess staggering on her feet and the shaky rooftop.

“It’s okay, Lady Luna, Gladio will catch you. And then… he’ll catch us,” Prompto added, sounding slightly mortified by the notion.

Noctis warped to the ground, his heart too tight in his chest. He needed so many answers yet, but the sight of Luna held by his Shield and friend took him by surprise. Somehow, it made her look so much more real. Each of his friends looked just as shocked, but it was the princess who took over.

“Gladiolus? Thanks for the catch. I… I know I look pale, but you can put me down and help Prompto.”

There was a blush on her cheeks, embarrassment for her poor appearance as she finally got to meet his friends. Ignis kept a lookout on the nearby street, refusing to process what was happening. Travelling back in time was one thing. But he’d seen the Oracle’s body with his own eyes. His thoughts were close to unraveling as logic betrayed him. If she could be here, if she could leave with them. What else could be changed? What else could be fixed?

Noctis put an arm around Luna to steady her, Gladio signaling Prompto for his own jump. The gunman leaped, hoping Pryna wouldn’t get hurt in the process. There were too many questions on their minds, but Ignis refused to let them linger. They agreed to wrap Luna in Noctis’s parka, with the hood pulled up, leading her away from the first lady’s manor. They barely exchanged a word, focusing on potential pursuers or complications. No one seemed interested in either of them, not even with the odd choice of clothing for their fifth companion. Reaching the Leville took only a few minutes, but it felt like hours. Luna’s pace was slow, almost painfully so and the guys exchanged worried glances.

What was wrong with her?

Prompto already wondered if altering the timeline wasn’t slowly erasing her, scratching at Pryna’s ears in an attempt to comfort himself. Gladiolus was worried of what losing the princess for a second time could do to Noctis. Ignis kept all of his thoughts at bay, good or bad, focusing on their path and the many people in the streets. He was looking for someone familiar, someone out of place. He was starting to wonder if this couldn’t be a really elaborate trap from one twisted chancellor…

But they reached the Leville safe and sound, although Luna was about ready to collapse when she saw the stairs. She was far too warm under the parka and Gladiolus took it upon himself to carry her to their room, while Ignis made some quick arrangements to take a second room. The strange feeling didn’t vanish when the five of them was finally sitting between four walls, the Oracle freed from the large coat. Noctis wanted to sit right next to her, but his nerves were slowly getting the better of him.

Luna had been given water and food, not to mention a remedy that took care of her fever, much to the prince’s relief. She set down her glass, leaning back in her seat, her hands clasped in her lap as she gazed at the four men. She didn’t know what to think or how to break the ice, but the silence was eating away at her patience. An anxious feeling grew deep inside her as the minutes passed. She’d never thought Umbra’s power could be used like this. Never thought that her only chance at meeting Noctis’s friends…

“I’d like to thank you for… rescuing me.” The word sounded foreign in her mouth and she steeled her heart. “I really wanted to meet you in better conditions. I have no idea what you went through to get here. I don’t know how I died or…”

Gladiolus cursed, while Prompto turned whiter than a sheet and Ignis blinked, his mouth falling open.

“Luna…”

“I knew it might happen, Noct,” she retorted. “And there’s no need to pretend otherwise. Maybe was it meant to be that way.”

“I didn’t come here to hear you were destined to die protecting me!” Noctis snapped.

Luna flinched and the silence which followed was heavier than the last one. Ignis cleared his throat, even though he doubted anyone could ease such tension.

“It would be preferable to clear a few things about this time travel… _thing_ before we try to determine what happened in our future and whether it’s fate or not. We’re all emotional about what happened in Altissia,” he reminded them.

Luna nodded, worrying her lower lip despite her strict upbringing.

“I’ll answer your questions as best as I can,” she assured.

Noctis wanted to ask her if she could leave with them, but he was too afraid of her answer.

“How far back can Umbra take us?” Gladio asked.

It wasn’t the worst question he could have chosen to kick things off.

“A couple of months,” Luna stated. “He didn’t develop that power until Noctis had gathered a handful of royal arms, and I never got around to test it directly. I saw what Umbra saw as he travelled in a few dreams… The further back in time he goes, the harder it gets for him to come back.”

“How long can we stay in the past?” Ignis inquired.

Lunafreya gave it some thought, glancing at her loyal dogs, sleeping on one of the beds of the suite. Umbra’s muzzle was under Pryna’s front paws. She’d never heard the dark shiba inu whine with such distress as they’d walked into the room.

“As far as I know, there’s no time limit. And Umbra comes back at the very second he has left, so time doesn’t lapse in the present. But stay too long and you’ll grow older, which might gather attention when you suddenly have gray hair and a beard.”

“We found you,” Prompto observed, “but we aren’t able to reach anyone from Lucis by phone or even mails. We couldn’t locate Cid in the port, but the man should be there at this time.”

“I… Understanding how this works with the people in the past is the hardest part for me. Umbra can’t interact with people like we do. From what I’ve seen, the people in the past are… stuck in a loop. It’s as if time had stopped for them. I can’t tell you what day we are or for how long I’ve waited for the day of my speech. It’s supposed to be tomorrow, but the hours passed and passed again…”

She looked distressed now and Noctis felt bad for putting her through this. He didn’t want to worry about the current situation. He just wanted to hold her and tell her everything in his heart while he still could.

“Would you say that could be the reason why the people barely bother with us?” he asked her instead. “I snuck up inside that mansion and no one chased after us. The guards stopped listening to us even when we were causing a bit of a ruckus too…”

“It’s true that most of the people I’ve seen were a bit… absent.”

“But that doesn’t apply to you, since you’re already sensitive to Umbra’s magic…” Ignis deduced.

“Okay, we need to address the elephant in the room.” Gladiolus declared, holding back a sigh. “I can tell Noctis is this close to losing his shit, pardon my language, princess. Are you stuck here, in this time loop, or can you come with us? And if so… what’s the catch?”

Luna wrapped her arms around herself without even realizing it.

“I honestly don’t know. But the very reason that brought you here is the fact I…”

Her voice faltered and for an instant, the dignified princess and strong Oracle was gone, leaving behind a terrified woman. Her shoulders shook, and she hid her face in her hands.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Luna, that’s enough,” Noctis pleaded with her.

“Don’t you understand, Noct? If you take me with you, I don’t die and if I don’t die, you don’t come here to get me in the first place. I’ll surely vanish in between the travel and then you will try it again, over and over, until it breaks you and the scourge…”

Noctis’s face was ashen and the only reason why he wasn’t standing next to her was because she’d sapped the will to move from him with her words.

“That’s not…”

“How does any of that shit makes sense!”

“Whoever goes back when we leave for the present, our travel through time will still have happened,” Ignis pointed out. “It’s our second trip already and the things we did the first time were still done when we came back. But we didn’t come back any later or earlier.”

Prompto looked like a kicked puppy by then and Luna struggled to pull herself together.

“I don’t know what will happen if you try to leave for the present with me,” she quickly said. “I don’t think the Astrals gave Umbra this power in such a goal. But things could also work out. I just…”

She tried to dry her tears, but they kept flowing down her cheeks and every man in the room could tell how furious she was against herself for being this shaken. But who wouldn’t be when faced with their own demise?

“Can you guys give us some time,” Noctis asked his friends.

Prompto nearly sprung to his feet in his eagerness to move. Anything to chance his mind from this awful situation they were in. How unfair would it be to Noctis and Luna if they were forced to part when this time travel had given them a second chance?

Ignis and Gladiolus were just as quick, giving either a curt nod or light bow to the Oracle. The door clicked behind them and Noctis couldn’t sit still any longer. His steps were soft but purposeful. When he kneeled in front of her, Lunafreya felt the urge to cross her arms over her chest, as though it could help her keep the sobs inside. She’d wanted to see him so much, almost at every waking moment. But now he was here, and she couldn’t smile, she couldn’t be herself, not with the idea life would take him away so soon.

“I’m sorry I didn’t… take the time to worry about what this would do to you,” he started, his voice shifting with emotions he could barely contain. His hands reached up and she saw his hesitation in the quiver of his outstretched fingers. “Is it okay if I touch you?”

The sobs threatened to take over and she nodded, more like a tremble than a nod really. It was taking all her willpower to keep her breathing remotely steady. His hands covered her knees, the pressure barely there.

“Do you remember how… we kept wishing we could meet? The places we would have visited in Tenebrea. In Insomnia. When I met Titan, I realized you’d been there before me and something inside…”

_…snapped._

“Noct, please.”

Her hands tentatively reached for his. A squeeze, a brief caress. Her fingers were cold. He gently covered her hands with his, kissing her fingertips. For an instant, he seemed to be praying and Luna couldn’t handle the silence anymore.

“I remember. I remember every word. They were my lifeline.”

But it hadn’t been enough. And how could it be anyway?

“I’m here now,” he told her. “I don’t want to believe I could lose you again. Any burden is fine, but…”

“Can you tell me what happened?” Luna asked him.

Noctis looked up at her, his eyes widening, a shuddering breath escaping his lips.

“I…  I couldn’t… I… First it was Leviathan and I think she broke my back, but then you…”

His shoulders shook and all the resolve Lunafreya had build up in her life seemed ready to vanish. Her throat was tied up, but she swallowed and tried to make him see why her life was expandable.

“You have to understand, whatever happened…”

“I should have been stronger! It was always you, facing everything in my stead… You were in Insomnia when the empire attacked. You were always one step ahead of me. And when I finally caught up to you…”

He wanted to hold her, to hide, to shake some sense into her. Didn’t she want to live? Didn’t she want to be with him for just a few days? But the tidal wave of emotions inside him raged too strongly and the trembling took over.

She soon felt his tears through her skirt and stroked his hair as he curled up in her lap, crying like a lost child. Luna couldn’t utter a word. She didn’t know any prayer that could mend this pain. But she held him, hoping this comfort would be enough. She’d seen him cry before, maybe once or twice. Tears of physical pain and shame. But his hands had been smaller, his body broken, not his heart. This was so much worse.

“I wanted to protect you this time,” he managed, voice muffled and hoarse.

“I’m here now.”

His following sob could have shattered her if she didn’t feel already so weak. But she held on to him as he held on to her and after a dozen more touch in his unruly locks or his trembling shoulders and the worst of it finally subsided. Noctis dared to look up to her, sniffling despite his best effort and his only comfort was the fact she was crying too.

“I didn’t come here to beg for comfort like… I’m sorry,” he breathed out.

“We need to stop apologizing.”

“Okay.” He felt embarrassed as he wondered how childish he looked, answering her with a mere okay. “I’ll hold you to that.”

Her smile was awfully frail as she decided to push her worries aside. She wouldn’t hold him back, but it didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy their improbable reunion.

“Could you simply hold me?” Luna asked him.

She didn’t have to ask him twice. He got to his feet, wincing just a bit after kneeling for so long. She wanted to inquire about his health, about his bad leg, but his hands were pulling her up and his arms delicately wrapped around her. This time she could relish the closeness, the warmth exuding from him, the thundering sound of his heart under her hands as she clasped to his shirt. She hid her face against his neck, her own tears slowly drying as relief filled her up.

“I’m glad you came,” Luna whispered.

“Really? The way you’ve been talking so far…”

“It’s not like I wanted to die without ever getting to see you again.”

His hands tensed on her waist and she gasped, which instantly drew him away from her.

“I hurt you…”

“I’m not usually that tender,” she sighed, rubbing her ribs with an expression that looked close to annoyance.

Noctis wasn’t sure if he could take any more bad news, but he squared his shoulders and asked her if anything was wrong.

“I’ve been… getting weaker recently. Ravus believes I can still get better, but I’ve seen enough illnesses to know…”

“So what, you can’t be cured? Why are you even sick?”

Her lips thinned to a mere line and her eyes held a dozen apologies as she offered him a straight answer.

“The covenants put a strain on me. And so does… wait, where is it?!”

Her pocket was empty and she seemed ready to panic as she fumbled for whatever trinket… Noctis’s eyes widened as realization hit.

“My father’s ring?”

“Yes, I was keeping it for you, I thought…”

“I have it here,” Noctis cut her off, raising the Lucii ring for her to see. “It made you ill?”

His voice was sharp, and her shoulders fell inward.

“Please, don’t blame yourself. It’s not only the ring or the covenants. The scourge is also growing stronger and it’s getting harder to keep it at bay.”

Noctis wasn’t sure how to accept that. The fact she was under so much pressure, while he carelessly travelled all over Lucis, discovering his country and enjoying himself with his friends.

“You should have told me,” he told her.

“What’s done is done.”

“Have you seen a doctor?”

Luna wasn’t sure if she should feel offended.

“What?!”

“I’m not trying to doubt you, but for this whole day, you’ve been voicing nothing but self-sacrificing thoughts. As if your fate was already sealed.”

She had an objection, but he erased the distance between them, grabbing her shoulders with a firm but gentle grip.

“You said you were eager to see me. You were waiting for me. But was it all to die once I finally got here?!”

She flinched, but didn’t look down.

“No, I would never… I wanted to be with you. I shouldn’t even talk in past tense, you’re here and I’m here. I want to be with you. I’ve been so afraid I could lose my resolve when I’d finally see you. You’re the one thing…”

Her hands reached for his arms and the pain mixing with relief was too much to bear. He could see her conflicted feelings in her eyes. He remembered how Luna used to be dignified and too serious for a 12-year-old girl. She hadn’t changed. Her duty was her reason to live, the one thing keeping her moving forward through the good and all the bad. But his friendship had helped her too, given her that one, personal hope for something that could belong only to her. He almost heard the voice she used to write in their notebook. The colors she’d chosen flashed under his eyelids as he blinked. Always warm, gentle colors that soothed him. One of his hands ran down her arm, the other one cupping her face. It took a few seconds for her to lean into the touch, but when she did, she pulled him closer.

“I’ve lost you twice already,” he reminded her. “I need real time with you. Not a smile and a few nice words, or a killer ring.”

She seemed ready to apologize, but he shook his head, their nose brushing at the movement.

“Tell me what you want. What you need. Not out of duty.”

His breath was reaching her lips and it would have taken only a few inches to finally…

“You,” she confessed. “I need you.”

A fragile grin showed in his eyes. Her arms had wrapped around his neck and he felt almost bold enough to take the final step, but there was still an important question on his mind.

“Will you come with me?”

“I’ll try. Noct, can you give me this moment at least?”

He couldn’t believe the blush on his cheeks or the new panic in his heart. Was it really the time to get flustered and shy? But the woman he loved and had thought lost forever was in his arms. Telling him many things he didn’t want to hear. He focused his thoughts on his current present. She wanted him. Luna wanted him. He stroked her neck, suddenly feeling unsure. Wouldn’t it make things harder if she couldn’t follow him?

“There’s something I never told you in our book,” he whispered, bracing himself. “I love you.”

Her smile grew full and he kissed her reply silent, unable to hold back the furious emotions whirling around his heart. Her lips were soft, almost too soft to be real. But her light gasp as he backed her up against the nearest wall was sign enough that she was real. He felt her fingers in his hair. Pulling, shuffling, ruffling. It was hard to find the right rhythm. Neither of them were sure what to do. They wanted to hold on each other until time grew too old to keep any hold on her. Or him.

As he parted from her and asked whether this was okay, Luna couldn’t help her laugh, which nearly stopped Noctis cold. But his self-aware eyes spotted a spark in her gaze and her hands pulled him right back to her.

“You’ve kept me waiting for so long. You had better make up for it,” she teased him.

Had she always been the bolder of them two? He didn’t stay baffled for long, stealing her lips for another kiss, growing a bit surer in his gestures as she melted between his arms. There was an urgency beneath every caress, and the taste of desperation on her tongue, but he forced those thoughts away. Focusing on nothing but her.

Heat under her skin. The beat of her heart, too fast, but steadier than his. The feel of her breath mingling with his. Her nails down his neck and the way she pulled him even closer. His hands couldn’t remain in a single spot as he pressed his body against hers, trying to remain attentive to any sign of pain. Noctis wanted to touch her hair, her neck, her shoulders, her face, to hold her waist so their hips could brush, run his fingers over her sides. He wanted to find a shiver that made her tremble with something good, something fresh and non-threatening. And much to his surprise, Luna wanted more.

It might have been the knowledge of her future demise. It might have been the panic from running away from her most recent captors. It might have been the exhilaration to find herself in the arms of her fiancé and childhood friend. Had he set something lose when he’d suggested she should forget about duty for once?

Luna couldn’t let go of him, couldn’t get enough. She had been afraid intimacy would feel awkward, after 12 years apart and meeting again as adults instead of children. But he’d travelled through time to see her. And if she was living her last days on Eos… Let’s say she had a right to turn them around and push him against the wall, letting out the many feeling she’d held back.

“I love you too.”

“You don’t say,” he chuckled before to feel her mouth back on his.

His hands on her were trembling by then, his heart fully open. He felt alive. More than alive. And for now, she was still…

Their thoughts almost melted together.

_This time, I’ll save you._

_I won’t stay behind. I’ll follow you this time._

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
> 
> So then, I hope the chocobros aren’t too close to the door of that room. I had half a mind to interrupt our favorite royals, but that would have been mean. I hope Pryna and Umbra won’t be too traumatized when they wake up.
> 
> I decided to make that Luna a bit more direct for the fluffier parts of the story. She’s older than Noctis and with the situation at hand, I think she would throw caution to the wind regarding a lot of things. Although it took time before she stopped repeating that her destiny was to die. D:
> 
> With all that said, I must head to bed, I’m dead on my feet. Please, leave me reviews. I feed and thrive on them. :D


	4. We have now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was inspired!! And I also believe it would be possible for me to finish this story faster than Unexpected. XD So here’s another chapter. I hope you’ll enjoy it. Fluff and angst on the menu today. Ignis gets back under the spotlight too. He is tagged as one of the main character after all.

His kisses were so desperate and sweet, Luna wondered if she could remain sane. His hands held her with a need she had never guessed in his letters. Something inside her wanted to burst, to rush up to the surface and she was shocked by the sound coming from her. The gasps and moans and needy whines. But he didn’t judge her, he really couldn’t, raw fear and need taking over his better judgment.

“Noctis, I can’t… I can’t stand up for much longer,” she admitted, her voice transformed by the many feelings rushing through her veins.

“Maybe we should…”

“Please don’t stop,” she begged him as he tried to catch his breath.

His arms held her and next thing she knew, he was lifting her up, struggling a bit to keep her feet from the floor while still kissing her. Their smiles melted together, and they wanted to laugh and cry. It felt perfect, and also too intense, but like coming home and finally finding the one thing that had been missing. Her hands had pulled his shirt out of his pants, his jacket was given up on the floor and the rush was driving him crazy. This was the reunion he’d been itching for. How many dreams had he woken from, left wanting, wondering, worrying… He’d been scared about the wedding, scared about her eyes on him. A part of him wished he knew what he was doing instead of running entirely on instinct, but she felt right in his arms. But the rest of his soul was too relieved he could finally connect with her, finally feel her arms and her hands.

His legs took them across the room, his brain only half functioning as he dropped himself on a couch. Luna instinctively straddled him, blushing as he groaned his approval. By the gods, wasn’t this wrong? Her heart was beating too fast and she doubted her weakened state would permit much more of this… wanton behavior. This felt too quick, maybe too rushed, but she liked how messy she acted, how improper it looked.

“You know, I really… really didn’t mean for our first meeting to…”

He held her waist, one hand running up her spine, leaning his head down to ghost a trail of kisses along her neck, tentatively testing her reaction to this new touch. Luna instantly held him closer, legs tensing, breath shuddering. Her voice melted into a moan. And as much as he liked the impression it gave him, his self-doubt came running back.

“Don’t fake it,” he asked her.

“What?”

“I… I don’t know half of what I’m doing, so don’t feel… obliged to fake anything to make me happy or something,” the prince explained through his ragged breaths.

Their eyes met then and Lunafreya cupped his face, her smile gentler than before.

“Why do you think I would…?”

“You managed that smile on every picture they took. Even in your letters…”

Something shifted inside as she realized how perceptive he always was.

“I won’t hide anything from you anymore,” she promised. “And you better do the same for me.”

The following kiss was softer, tender, but the panic was far too close for either of them to remain in pure tenderness. They were beet red as they parted, a thread of saliva breaking between them, adding to the mix of need and embarrassment they both felt.

“That’s…”

Noctis wasn’t sure how to describe what was going on in his head. He wanted to talk with her, but it seemed his body had a will of its own.

“I don’t remember the last time… I don’t think there was a last time… When I felt this safe. And this much alive.”

She’d craved love without even realizing it, surviving on her own and now his very touch could erase years of loneliness and fear. How could she be patient after all this time? How could she hold back her voice, when she’d muffled her screams of pain for so long?

“Tell me what you want,” he breathed into her ears.

The words eluded her. She was overwhelmed and also somewhat scared. If she had him now, wouldn’t it stop? Or should she consider time had stopped for them both? Instinctively, her hands pulled on his shirt, as though the garment offended her and he shrugged it off one sleeve at a time, because prying his hands off her was a lot to ask.

Time hadn’t stopped, but it fell upon itself as they slowly discovered how well they could fit in each other arms.

…

Prompto was ready to pull out his hair and Gladiolus had nearly thrown his phone across the room while Ignis sat still, arms crossed over his chest.

“What are we going to do if…” the shield started.

“Don’t say it,” Prompto begged.

“We’ll face the music when and if the time comes,” Ignis declared. “I know we’re all worried about Noctis. But whatever happens when we go back, he can at least have time with her right now.”

“And then what? Won’t it make it worse?” Gladio insisted. “He’s stalling.”

“Are you listening to yourself, dude? Where’s your heart?!” Prompto asked, anger showing in his pale eyes.

“We barely pieced him back together once. And I don’t think my heart can take doing it all over again.”

“Then what, you want to barge in on them and tear’em apart, so he can focus on the scourge and his duty?!” Ignis snapped, getting off his seat to better face the Shield.

“No, whoa, Iggy, get off your high horse.”

“I know you think he’s stalling and you are right, Gladiolus, Noctis is stalling for time and a reprieve he deserved from the moment we learned what happened to Insomnia and his father! You can’t fix him and I’m not saying this will help, but it cannot make him any worse and time is not passing in the present, no matter how ludicrous that sound. So, get off his case for one bloody day!”

Gladiolus blinked at the tactician’s outburst, while Prompto had hunched over himself, shocked by the anger transpiring in Ignis’s voice.

“This isn’t entirely about Noctis, is it?” the gunman asked.

“What?!”

“Gladio was trying to text Iris a minute ago and you were staring at everything around the room. He’s worried he might not get news from his sister for as long as we’re stuck here, while you Iggy… You’re…”

“Prompto…”

“You’re trying to come to terms with the fact your eyes won’t be fixed even if Luna survives the travel,” Prompto finished.

Both Gladio and Ignis cursed at that, because their friend was right. Entirely right.

“Iggy…” Gladiolus started, an apology written all over his face.

“I don’t want to hear it.”

The following silence was tense, Ignis fighting to regain his countenance to no avail, while Prompto and Gladiolus wondered if anything they could say would make him better. In the present, they had barely addressed his handicap. There had been one argument and Ignis had been the one doing the comforting and the resolving, even though he had to be in far more suffering than either men. Prompto had wanted to know how it’d happened, while Gladiolus couldn’t believe the advisor hadn’t been more careful about himself.

“I get that you want to deal with this on your own, Iggy,” Prompto started after a few more minutes of nervous silence. “But you really don’t have to. We’re not here only for Noctis. We’re all friends.”

“Very well. If you want to help, don’t look at me like that while I can still see it.”

Both men flinched, giving him even more concerned looks. Ignis took off his glasses, wondering if the lens weren’t shifting his vision. Adding that awful pity he saw in their eyes. A part of him wanted to throw the damn things across the room, since his perfect vision was nothing but an illusion now. What would he give for his eyesight to be just a few points beneath perfection now? Blinking only fueled his rage and the silence was getting on his nerves and he was angry at himself for the anger he felt at Noctis. The prince had his miracle. And while he owed more than one miracle, Ignis couldn’t help his resentment. How petty could he be?

He crossed the room, barely keeping his steps even, Gladiolus jumping on his feet, which instantly resulted in an angry bark from Ignis.

“Let me be, Gladio.”

_At least, while I can still look after myself._

The door shut behind him with a thud, both men deflated by the clear struggle their friend was under.

“Should we really let him… wonder off in this state of mind?”

“I remember you leaving on your own and none of us held you back, even though we were worried,” Prompto observed. “He needs time. And it sounds like we finally have some. I just hope…”

“It’s Ignis Scientia, Prompto, he won’t do anything foolish. At least, nothing too bad.”

“You sure?” the gunman asked worriedly.

“What I’m sure of is that we can’t let this go unnoticed by our prince. Ignis might talk to him. Or to Lunafreya at least, since he’s convinced she won’t make it.”

“Don’t say stuff like that!”

“People don’t come back from the death,” Gladiolus insisted. “I don’t wish Noctis pain, and if she can survive, I’ll thank the Astrals and Etro and any deity you put before me… But until I see it with my own eyes…”

“Why are you so damn bitter? I know Altissia was hell, I know we didn’t do as much as we should have…”

Gladio started pacing back and forth, trying to muster patience for the younger man. To keep in the guilt ravaging his heart. He couldn’t deal with this. He didn’t want time to sit back and think about his sorry self. His trials didn’t mean anything. The training he gave Noctis was a joke if his prince, his king had to face this sort of monsters. And Prompto was too perceptive for his own good.

“What’s your damage?! It isn’t about being stuck here, isn’t it? You wanted us to push forward so badly.”

“I couldn’t protect any of you when hell broke loose. Noctis and Ignis almost died and the Oracle actually died while we were struggling to save some civilians with our sorry asses.”

Prompto was surprised to hear the truth out of him. Gladiolus had to be even more shaken then he’d first thought.

“Dude, it’s not… I don’t think anyone could have managed to protect anyone in these circumstances.”

“Yeah right.”

Gladiolus was convinced his father would have managed. His father would have anticipated the trap. He would have stayed by Noctis’s side. He should have…

“What good is going back in time if we can only fix one thing?”

Prompto shifted uncomfortably in his seat. How many times had he wondered about how different his life could have been if… if one thing from his past could be changed. His hand instinctively touched his wristband and before the moment was gone, he voiced what his father had taught him. Way, way back in the past, when life was harder, and plain, plain wrong.

“There are things that we cannot fix… ever. And we have to learn to live with them broken, don’t we?”

“Well shit. A lot of good that does me.”

It was Prompto’s turn to snap at him.

“I’m sorry man, but you can’t wallow in guilt about what happened forever! Unless we stay here forever. Now, wouldn’t that be grand, heh?”

His bitter laugh made Gladiolus wonder just how deep they were all broken. It was awful to see Noctis in so much pain. To think of everything Ignis had lost. To look at those streets outside, knowing they laid in waste with a pile of corpses in the present. His thoughts couldn’t stay rooted, rushing back to Insomnia, imagining his home, the streets of his youth in the same state. Altissia had been an awakening for the Shield. The realization that an evil worse than the Scourge was hard at work and that a small man like him couldn’t hope to stop it. Noctis was the only one.

Running a tired hand through his hair, Gladio turned his back on Prompto, holding back his angry words, filled with venom. Pushing his friends away wouldn’t change how he felt. But seeing them, hearing them being so desperate…

_We signed up to witness a freaking wedding. Not to save the damn world._

… 

Ignis had no destination in mind when he left. The rational part of his mind wondered if putting any distance between Noctis and him couldn’t trigger something regarding this time travel. Couldn’t there be a rebound? A limit of how far he could get on his own? He wanted to rush on a boat and sail for Lucis and the roads he knew. He wanted to drive in the Regalia for hours, with his favorite music blaring on the speakers, and ten iced ebonies. He wanted to invade this restaurant’s kitchen and take over the cooking, to go through every recipe he’d thought of or learned.

Knowing it would be his last chance for every of these things. He had to mourn ever mastering that Tenebrean pastry Noctis remembered so fondly. He had to accept his fate. He had chosen to wear the ring, knowing full well the risks. He should have died from it. And a dark, dark part of him wished he’d died instead of this.

Couldn’t they take anything else? A few fingers, one foot, maybe his taste, or his sense of smell? He’d always been a keen observer, always loved seeing the what was wrong with a setting, a picture, a new dish. It was all gone, leaving him a crippled mess who could barely walk around without his cane. He knew people got by sightless. He knew he might relearn everything from scratch, with the help of muscle memory and his other senses.

But did he want to?

 _It’s not like you have a choice_ , he reminded himself.

Despite himself, his feet had taken him back to the first bridge that had broken around him. He studied the pattern of its arches, the color of its tiles. The way the sun drew an intricate design all over it. It was untouched, unbroken, like he felt right now. He pushed himself forward, looking for something, anything that would tell him he wasn’t in the past, anything that might hint to the small chance of his sight remaining his.

But that roof was still standing. That tower was still up. This plaza looked much nicer this way. The ground was even under his feet. His mind was reeling as he found himself walking down the steps leading to the altar where Luna had started the covenant. The pillars were damaged by time, but there was no trace of his battle with Ravus Nox Fleuret. No trace of blood on the edge, where Luna’s body had slowly vanished into pure light. He summoned his daggers, finding the chips left by his confrontation with Ardyn.

Ignis turned the blade around in his hands. Wondering if maybe, inflicting the wound upon himself in the past might not revert it. A shaking sneaked up his shoulders and he dropped the dagger, scared by his own thoughts.

“I’m whole. I’m still…”

Could he really go back, knowing what a drag he would be for his friends? Who would make sure they ate actual food, and not those cup of noodles Gladio loved so much? Chemical food was nice every once in a while, but Noctis needed better, as did Prompto and Gladiolus. Who would look after them if he needed to be guided around like some old dog?

_I’m 22. And suddenly I can’t walk by myself, I need pointers to get dressed, I…_

Noctis was giving him his sight back temporarily, only to take it away again.

_Don’t be angry at him. You can’t be angry with him. You chose this. He didn’t ask you to. He didn’t ask to be the chosen king, or for Ardyn to…_

A hacked sob threatened to cross his throat and he gritted his teeth, angry at himself. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d cried. Tears were inefficient, and he felt broken enough as it was not to add that to his growing list of deficiencies. He should be worrying about Noctis. He should remember the vision the king of olds had given him. But it was too much to bear right now. He didn’t give up his entire life to lead Noctis to his own death, for the Six’s sakes!

_He’s my baby brother… And losing him would be worse…_

Taking his eyes away was no mercy, even if it meant he wouldn’t have to watch Noctis’s last moments. They were already playing in a loop in his mind, and it tore him apart.

…

Noctis and Luna lied in each other arms. They’d moved to the bed in a moment of clarity, the caresses and kisses shifting into sweet words as her fatigue got the best of her. The last thing he wanted was to tire her and he was simply glad to be with her, no matter which bridge they would burn or leave unburned. He’d discovered bruises under her dress and might have faltered if she hadn’t begged him to hold her and not say a word about her state. So instead, he focused on her smile. On the emotions she awakened in him. On the longing he couldn’t fight, couldn’t tamper down.

She’d fallen asleep in his arms, but Noctis couldn’t drift into slumber, not with the impression he was only borrowing time with her. Every now and then, he took her pulse, with soft, careful gestures. He’d kissed her bruised ribs on one side only, the spot where she’d been stabbed, his heart up in his throat.

Thinking anyone had raised a hand on her. Thinking of how long she’d suffered only to meet a tragic end. While he was living a normal life back in Insomnia.

_I should have left sooner. I should have saved you before this all started._

“Noct?”

“Did I wake you?” he asked, ready to apologize.

“No… My sleep has been flimsy lately. Are you…” she raised herself on one arm, to take a better look at his face and Noctis tried to smile at her. “You’re worrying again, aren’t you? Don’t linger on the past. Any past. I’m not going anywhere.”

“You’d better not. There’s so many things…”

She interrupted him with a kiss, glad to see the smile on his face when she moved away.

“Let’s take the time we need right now. One or two weeks isn’t a lot to ask with everything we went through. I want to hear everything about your trip.”

“And you have a lot of things to tell me yourself.”

She hid her face against his chest at that, her breath drawing goosebumps from him. Her next words spelled out what he’d been thinking for a good part of his travels.

“12 years was far, far too long.”

“At times, I thought my feelings were just wishful thinking on my part,” he confessed.

“Me too.”

“But then I saw you standing before that crowd. And our eyes met.”

“Are you sure… all this isn’t only because I died? I was a dream and in a way, I still am. When you’ll awaken from it, maybe will you realize I’m not really what you wanted.”

“Luna, I forbid you from entertaining such thoughts. I’m not a child anymore. I know you’re not perfect. And I’m a bit glad you aren’t. It’s really nerve-wrecking to even pretend I’m worth your attention.”

She bit her lip, holding him tighter in her arms. How could he still doubt himself so much after all this time? After everything he’d accomplished?

“Don’t say things like that,” she pleaded with him. “You’re worth much, much more than a wasted Oracle.”

“Luna…” he sighed, his hand covering her hair.

“I was hoping… you could see me at my best,” she admitted.

“You don’t think I wanted the same? Instead, you had to protect me.”

“I don’t remember it. It hasn’t happened to me yet.”

“It won’t happen. At least, I don’t want…”

His voice broke and she shivered in his embrace.

“Please, don’t cry again. I don’t think I can hold back my tears if you do. I never wanted you to hurt this bad.”

“I know, Luna. I’m just… terrified when I wonder if this isn’t the actual dream. You here, talking with me, kissing me back, warm and alive in my arms. When I wake up, you have to still be here.”

“I will be,” she promised, throat aching from the knot growing inside.

“I’m a clingy mess,” he deplored.

Her light chuckle against his neck mended some of the hurt.

“I’ve been out of love for so long. I think I’ll be clingier for much longer than you.”

“You won’t hear any complaint here.”

The silence they shared was soft and comforting. They understood each other so well. Just before to drift back to sleep, Luna whispered words he hadn’t expected from her.

“Thank you for taking a risk, coming all the way back for me.”

“How is that a risk?!”

“You might not have found me… You took a chance. And I’m glad you did.”

“Even though you said…”

“Forget what I said earlier today. I was under shock and trying to hold on to my defenses. I’m glad you came for me.”

“I’m so glad I could…”

Noctis was starting to wonder if his voice could ever get back to normal. Or if those heightened emotions would rule his life for the rest of his days. The idea didn’t bother him. He would go through twice as much embarrassment if it meant she could be with him.

To be continued…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those short chapters are a breath of fresh air when it comes to feeling productive with my writing. And yes, I’m using Ignis’s episode for this story. I took that much time to update it that I can, although it really wasn’t intended. Might have to go back and check if I didn’t put a detail that contradict the events from this DLC. I hope you liked the angst with the chocobro. It was my favorite part of the chapter to be honest. Noctis might be hurting, but his friends are hurting a lot too and I don’t want to forget about them.
> 
> As always, comments make me really happy.


	5. Brothers

 

By the time morning came, Prompto was a freaking mess. Like, more than the previous day. He’d called Ignis a dozen times during the night, hoping the man would answer. But he didn’t. Gladiolus had doused his own stress in alcohol, with the impression Ignis wouldn’t come back before one of them went looking for him. And he wasn’t ready to go off and face the steadiest member of their group when he was like this. He could face an angry Ignis. But an Iggy who hurt that bad. That was new for him. Noctis was the best at dealing with his advisor when it came to matter of the hearts, and the Astrals new, usually, it wasn’t Noctis doing the advising.

Noctis walked out of the room he shared with Luna in search of his friends. There was a sheepish look on his face, because he expected teasing from them for his time alone with her turning in the rest of the afternoon and the entire night. Finding a distressed Prompto alone in the room the guys were supposed to share was like a cold shower on his little cloud of happiness.

“What’s wrong?” the prince asked instantly.

“Hey, Noct, Lady Luna.” Prompto replied, forcing a smile. “We’ve been… a bit on edge. Gladiolus is cranky as hell at the bar and Ignis needed to cool his head a bit. Like… all night long.”

“Ignis?! Why didn’t you…”

“I called him. And even had Gladiolus calling him. And if you’re going to ask me if I thought of warning you, think again. You owed some peace and quiet after all it took to get you two together.”

The pair blushed slightly.

“It’s really kind of you, Prompto,” Luna said. “But I don’t want any of you suffering in silence because you’re afraid of disturbing Noctis and I.”

“Heh, I thought you would say something like that,” the gunman sighed. “Thing is, Noctis isn’t the only one who lost something in Altissia. I want to help Ignis, but I’m not sure he’ll let me.”

“What did he…?”

Noctis cursed under his breath. He’d barely worried about Ignis, despite the fact his friend was blind in their present. He was so focused on his pain, on finding Luna, on getting back what had been unjustly taken.

“He’s been out the entire night?”

“Could one of you two please tell me what happened to Ignis?” Luna asked, keeping her voice gentle.

“He was hurt, badly. He’s blind in our present,” Prompto explained, remaining fidgety. “But as you saw yesterday, when we traveled back, he was his old self, right as rain.”

Luna paled and exchanged a brief look with Noctis.

“You traveled back and forth once, didn’t you? So, he already knows his wounds and handicap are coming back…”

“And as always, he kept his worries to himself…” Noctis whispered.

A part of him wanted to go look for Ignis, but Lunafreya looked too weak to run around the city and the idea of leaving her side was insupportable.

“You should check on him.” Luna told him. “I’ll stay with Prompto in the meantime.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ll protect her with my life, Noct,” Prompto vowed, before to hear the Oracle’s stomach rumbling and add with a smirk. “I’ll also make sure she gets a proper breakfast.”

Noctis chastised himself for not worrying about that detail, but he had been torn between his need to spend his entire time with Luna and the fact he needed to explain things to his friends regarding their stay in this time.

“Okay. I’ll try not to be too long. If Ignis hasn’t turned off his cellphone, I should be able to locate him quickly enough.”

“Just go,” Luna said.

On the way out, the prince spotted Gladiolus at the bar and frowned. He clearly needed to clear a few things up with his Shield. Walking up to him, Noctis tapped the large man’s shoulder, smelling alcohol as his friend slowly faced him.

“Where’s your princess?” Gladio interrogated him instantly.

“We’re not joined at the hip. What’s wrong with you?”

“With me?! Everything’s wrong apparently.” Gladio scoffed.

“Either you get yourself together, either you tell me what’s going on.”

“I’m drunk and pissed off. Talking with you is the last thing I want to do.”

Noctis felt his patience running thin. It was hard to tell if the man was hurting or simply angry with him and he had enough of his bouts of anger.

“You want to punch me in the face and drag me back to the present, don’t you?”

The bartender raised one brow, but after a few seconds, he didn’t seem to mind the weird talk of the prince and resumed to check on his other patrons.

“Something like that, yeah,” Gladiolus groaned. “I’m a sick bastard and I hate to see you happy.”

The sarcasm was like a slap in the face and Noctis lost his edge.

“Gladio, I can’t help you if you’re like this.”

“I don’t want your help. I don’t need help. Heck, you should get out and make sure Ignis is alright.”

“Why didn’t _you_ do that?” Noctis asked, taking a seat next to Gladio.

“Because he wouldn’t listen to me. It took Prompto telling me what was in my face to even realize what Iggy’s going through.”

Noctis noticed how his large shoulders were slumped down, and the fact dark circles rimmed his eyes. Gladiolus had been beaten himself up for the entire night, one drink after the other. He could take it, Etro knew it took an absurd amount of liquor for his Shield to tip over. And the man never got drunk. He was too worried about his duty, too much of a professional to allow himself the luxury of an intoxicated brain. Noctis usually had to order him to get drunk, because he didn’t like to drink alone and Prompto was too much of a lightweight. Not that Noctis hold his alcohol well, but that wasn’t the point.

“Take a remedy or two and come with me. Ignis’s your best friend.”

“Nope. You’re his best friend. I’m the guy keeping his protégé alive. Barely it seems. Lately, it sounds more like I’m the man trying to make your life miserable. And I don’t even succeed at that.”

To say Noctis felt disheartened hearing his old time bodyguard and friend belittle himself like that would have been an understatement.

“How long do you intend to be like this?”

“How long are we staying?”

Noctis punched him in the ribs, eliciting a tired growl of protest.

“You can’t just rush and pretend the guilt will go away. And you need to get your facts straight. You didn’t fail me. And you are not, and never have been, making my life miserable.”

The prince concluded his sentence by taking the beer Gladio was nursing from his hands.

“Don’t patronize me, now. I’m drunk, not crying like a little girl.”

“Yeah, cause that’s what I do, not you,” Noctis sneered at him.

The Shield paled, because as harsh as he might sound, the last thing he wanted was to make one of his friends feel bad. He gave a quizzical look to his prince. He didn’t remember ever implying… Unless some of the mindless teasing he subjected him to had crossed a line one time…

“I never said…”

“Wow, I was kidding, and you bit the hook, sinker and line!!” Noctis laughed, clapping him on the back.

The hint of a smile showed on Gladio’s face. It was good to see Noctis acting more like himself. But the next words Noctis said finally got him to realize he’d outdone himself with the shots and beers.

“You’re freaking loud…”

“You’re headed to bed. Now. Try not to look too drunk in front of Luna.”

Gladiolus gave him a push, more as a teasing gesture than an attack, but he clearly wasn’t controlling his strength as well as usual, Noctis forced to hold onto the counter as his seat went sliding over the floor and crashed inside the wall.

“Shit. Do you want an escort up there?”

“I said no patronizing. Go find Iggy. He knows the best hangover cures.”

Noctis was reminded he had promised to be back quickly and didn’t wait to see how the bartender reacted to his broken stool and damaged wall. Walking outside in the streets of Altissia was pretty surreal and Noctis had to admit, the idea Gladiolus was even letting him go off on his own was new. But this was the past and their enemies were in the present. At least, that’s where they were supposed to be. Altissia looked peaceful and for the nth time, the prince wondered where all the imperial ships had gone. They had to have been hiding somewhere, didn’t they? Unless this wasn’t really the eve of Luna’s speech and their covenant. The sun wasn’t quite high in the sky, but Luna wasn’t used to sleeping in and had waken him up with a feather-like kiss.

There was no way he was going to sleep after that. And now, his mind was wondering what could be going on in Ignis’s head.

Taking out his phone, he made a quick check up and was disappointed to see Ignis’s signal was offline. He still brought up the man’s number and typed on a few digital keys.

_I’m looking for you. You’d better not let me wander around this city for hours._

The answer took some time, but as the familiar buzzing came, Noctis felt a wave of gratitude for the fact Ignis never brushed him off, no matter what was his own state of mind. Then he frowned at his advisor’s answer.

_The exercise might do you some good._

_N: Scientia._

_I: Fine, let’s do it your way. I’m on the rooftops. Don’t go breaking your neck._

_N: You could climb down._

_I: You can warp wherever you want._

_N: Which rooftop?_

Ignis refused to answer him anymore than that and Noctis could guess the man didn’t want to be found. He also didn’t want to be difficult though, so he’d conceded that much. It took Noctis a few warps to get himself on a roof, and after climbing just high enough, he had a perfect view of the city. He had to say, no matter the angle, the various canals, the old buildings weaving a web of streets and stairs gave Altissia the makings of something out of a fantasy world. There was a small rainbow near the port from a drizzle falling and something broke deep inside at the idea Ignis was watching these things, maybe for the last time.

Noctis knew how it felt to be crippled. His wheelchair still haunted a few of his dreams and he was terrified of ever losing the ability to walk again. But Ignis had to walk in the dark, losing the light, the colors, the textures. The stars… And all for what?

The prince really wasn’t sure how to face Ignis when he finally found him, a few warps later. His advisor was sitting with his back against some unused chimney, looking out into the distance. His clothes were dirty and rumpled from climbing all the way up here. Noctis spotted some dishes lying in a cardboard box and from the looks of them, Ignis had prepared himself a whole feast, somehow.

“Is this your rebellious phase? After all these years?”

Ignis chuckled, leaning his head back against the stone. His glasses were gone, and he looked younger. Almost too young. Noctis couldn’t remember the last time he’d looked at his advisor and saw him for what he was instead of his mentor, teacher, and caregiver. Ignis had always been a part of his life. Not unlike a piece of furniture resisting time. The thought pained him, because he had been taking his friend for granted. And he wasn’t sure he owed such a sacrifice…

“I barely realized how nice the city looked when we first visited,” Ignis whispered.

Noctis swallowed, unsure of the way he should breach the subject.

“I didn’t allow you much sightseeing… Mind if I join you?”

“It’s a free state. Or so said that lady Camilla.”

Noctis sat next to him, bending his legs and leaning his arms on his knees, stretching his neck before taking a good look around.

“Did you spend the whole night here?”

“They have some incredible nightlights. And the night didn’t last more than a few hours. It’s like time is… stretching over the day somehow.”

“Tell me you haven’t started taking notes.”

A light elbow to his ribs convinced Noctis to lay off the playful jabs.

“The guys are pretty worried about you,” the prince stated.

Ignis let out a deep sigh, but remained silent.

“I’m worried too. I know I dismissed each and every of you because I was obsessed with finding Luna…”

“It’s fine,” Ignis cut him off. “I always preferred seeing you with a goal than the ghost you were for the past weeks.”

Noctis wished he had the same patience as his advisor. Iggy could always get through him one way or another. But now that the roles were reversed, he was struggling and reverted to being more aggressive about it.

“It’s not _fine_ ,” Noctis opposed. “You didn’t even let us know what happened with you that day. Gladiolus said they found you by the altar.”

“Noctis, we’ve already talked about this.”

“More like I tried to talk, and you kept interrupting me or telling me I should drop our whole quest and enjoy my life a little. I don’t know what you went through, but your sight isn’t coming back, and you know it.”

Ignis’s sharp intake of breath was enough to know his words had hit too close to home. Noctis tried to ease some of his pain, clinging to one more hope. If Luna could survive, surely…

“If I knew who did this to you,” he started. “If that person was here, in this time, I would…”

“There’s nothing you can do, believe me.”

“Ignis, we traveled back in time! Is there really stuff we can’t do at this point?”

Ignis clenched both fists, his teeth snapping together. He didn’t want to hope. He couldn’t. He’d made his choice and it had meant saving Noctis’s life. For now, at least.

“You can’t fix this, Noct,” he declared, voice firm, sharp, almost rough from the pain he was holding back.

“Why not?!”

Ignis motioned to get up, his exasperation turning to resentment. He wasn’t going to subject his liege to those ugly emotions if he could… But a pull held him back and he realized Noctis had gripped his arm. Their eyes locked in a defying glare.

“You’re going to tell me what happened.”

“I will do no such thing,” Ignis retorted. “Let go.”

Ignis was trying to pull away as they talked, but Noctis was holding him back with all his might and their strength being quite similar if you didn’t count the crystal powers, they should have been stuck like this for a while. Except Ignis had no patience and Noctis was too on edge.

“A star shaped scar, Iggy!” Noctis reminded him. “You’re trying to make me believe that’s…!”

Something snapped as Ignis saw Ardyn’s awful smile under his eyelids. He remembered the way his set of daggers and polearms were suddenly like the armiger, how moving was too easy, he hadn’t been moving, but gliding. Noctis lying motionless on the ground. Almost lifeless, but still breathing. The burns on his arms, on his shoulders, the dark spots dancing behind his eyes as he let the ring eat away at his lifeforce. It was all surging back, the blooming pain around his left eye, melting, sizzling skin, the fire in his lungs, up in his throat. The hand on his wrist was an invasion and he needed to free himself, otherwise there was no way he could breathe.

Noctis never saw the punch coming. He was too dumbfounded to defend himself, letting out a yelp as his back hit the roof tiles. Ignis had gripped his collar and seemed ready to punch him again. There was a look in his eyes foreign, furious, almost wild with anger. He wasn’t entirely there, he might be seeing things.

“Iggy?” Noctis asked, his voice a little too high-pitched.

The use of his nickname by the prince made him snap out of it. He realized with horror he’d just struck Noctis in his panic.

“Oh lords… I didn’t… I apologize, Noct…”

“It was my fault, wasn’t it?”

For the longest time, they remained staring at each other, Ignis frozen in place, Noctis trying to swallow the guilt coming with his own understanding. If they were counting past faults, Ignis had a thousand reasons to blame or resent Noctis. But his insufferable dislike of vegetables, his incapacity to be on time or appear interested by something had never put off Ignis. At least, not that the man ever showed it. There had been time when they’d clashed of course. Right now, they both felt lost. Noctis had never looked at him with this kind of guilt and Ignis had never wanted to hide when he’d met his eyes.

“If I’m to blame…” Noctis started.

_Why do I have to see that look on your face?_

“I am not blaming anyone…”

It was a struggle to let the words out, a struggle to push on the contradicting thoughts and feelings tearing at his heart and soul. Ignis looked away first as the weight crushed him. He couldn’t be strong now, he couldn’t face him, couldn’t ask for his eyes back when the price was so little compared to…

He tried to pull away, to find his rationality and sanity in distance, but Noctis held him back for the second time. In a shuddering breath, Ignis lost all that was left of his composure, he lost the safe distance, the will to fight against the pain, the pretense of being whole and unfazed. Noctis saw the apprehension in his eyes turning into tears before to feel his pointy nose digging in his shoulder. It felt awkward for a instant, scary for about three full seconds, because he’d never seen the man cracking down before. Ignis always led the way, facing the world all on his own, barely letting him have his back on the battlefield. And now…

“I wanted to keep you safe,” Ignis confessed.

He sounded like a child. Noctis held him, gulping down the knot in his throat.

“And you freaking did. Did you really have to go and get yourself blind doing it?”

“They didn’t really give me a say in the matter,” the older man muttered. He raised himself then, even though his shoulders were still shaking a bit, looking embarrassed beyond words.

Noctis sat up and nudged him in the shoulder, worry written all over his face.

“Who are _they_?”

Ignis ran one hand over his tired face, effectively ruining his hairstyle, which would normally infuriate him. Instead he just sighed as he tried to get his emotions back under control.

“Now, if I tell you, I want you to keep your temper in check.”

That sounded so much like the good old Iggy, Noctis wondered how far back they’d gone. But his advisor didn’t wait, knowing he would only hesitate more if he did.

“I wore the ring. Ardyn was threatening you and it was the only way…”

“You did WHAT?!”

Ignis couldn’t help the smirk that tugged on the corner of his mouth at the prince’s reaction.

“After all these years, maybe a part of my mind thought my exemplary service to the royal family would amount to something in their eyes.”

“You moron! Did you want to get yourself killed?!”

“If it meant keeping you alive…”

“Shut up and listen to yourself talking. What do you think I would do if you were gone?”

Ignis was shaken by the genuine distress in Noctis’s eyes. They’d always cared for each other, it was pretty much impossible for things to be otherwise, but their friendship was a force of habit. Like the sun shining in the morning and the rain falling on cloudy days.

“You’re the chosen kin…”

It was Ignis’s turn to get punched in the face, although this time, the offender meant it.

“You’re lucky I wasn’t wearing my glasses,” he groaned, raising one hand in self-defense when Noctis gripped his collar.

“You’re lucky to be alive after pulling a stunt like that!” Noctis objected. “The ring rejects… Of course, _you_ ’d be worthy, Iggy, but it could have taken so much more than your eyes!”

“I’m aware. Now do you understand why going back…”

“Forget about that. You need to swear to me, _on my head_ ,” Noctis emphasized, “that you won’t do something like that again.”

“On… your head?” Ignis repeated, shrugging him off to straighten his rumpled collar.

“Since you clearly don’t care about your own neck.”

“Noctis…”

“That’s an order from your king. You’re like a brother to me, Iggy. You’re all the family I got left. I can’t…”

_I can’t face any of this if you’re gone._

Ignis swallowed.

“I’m not going anywhere. I can’t promise I’ll recover as fast as I’d want from…”

He mouthed a curse as the right words to reassure Noctis eluded him.

“Just don’t forsake your life for mine. I don’t even know if I can really keep Luna after coming here.”

“You’re not getting rid of me this easily.”

“Good…”

It was hard to tell if anything more needed to be said between them after that. Noctis wanted to apologize and ask for more explanation, but Ignis was still quite raw and also quite ashamed for his lapse of property, no matter how short it had been.

It was a buzz from Noctis’s phone that actually brought them out of their daze. Somehow, they were both wondering for how long they’d consider each other as family without ever acknowledging it.

“What is it?”

“Gladio wants your hungover cure,” Noctis sighed, before putting on a teasing smile. “After all, I’m the only one who would be lost without you, blind or not.”

Ignis rolled his eyes, relishing the fact he could do it with both eyes yet.

“I suppose it is good to feel needed,” he stated. “Although your Shield better grow back to his actual age when we reach the present.”

“If you tell him that, you might get yourself another bruise,” Noctis mocked him.

He was sporting quite the bruise himself already and Ignis might had dwelled on it if he wasn’t trying to keep far worse regrets at bay. So instead of apologizing, he shot back. “Did you really have to punch me?!”

“Hey, that was payback, since you started it out of the blue!”

The argument remained playful and while they were both buying time, so they could process everything else. Buying time in a stretched-out loop of the same day playing over and over again sounded counter-intuitive, but they might as well try.

To be continued…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m stuck home with my broken car – the cold temporarily killed it- and I indulged myself into writing another chapter today. Calling Umbra has gotten a lot of love lately, but I feel like I should go back to Unexpected. But anyway, next chapter will see Noct/Luna fluff, and surely some heavy angst with a potential visit from a certain villain. You know, that guy whose powers involve playing with stitches in time. I wonder if Umbra can sniff him out of his hiding place.


	6. Forget the future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter!!! I hope you’ll like it, for it’s mostly chocobros and brief fluff mixed in there. Enjoy this short chapter!

Walking back to the Leville felt like a walk of shame. Noctis and Ignis did their best to talk about normal things, but it was clear how eager Noctis was to reunite with Luna, while Ignis wanted to get his hands on food. He wanted to prepare the king’s favorite meal as an apology for punching him out of nowhere.

“I was hoping we could stay for a few weeks. Is that… alright with you?”

“I can’t pretend I’m eager to be blind again,” Ignis declared calmly.

How jarring to hear him refer to his wounds that way…

“Iggy…”

“I’m still coming to terms with it, but that loss isn’t…”

“Stop trying to be the bigger person. You think breaking down for half a minute is enough to get over it?!”

A slap behind his head made Noctis look up at him furiously and Ignis glared right back at him for a few seconds more.

“I made my decision Noctis and if I was to go back, I’d let things play out in the very same way,” the advisor stated, “Gladiolus would lay down his life for you and so would Prompto. Is it so wrong that I’m no different?”

_Except you’re no pawns. You think my father was happy to lose soldiers? You think I want you to sacrifice yourself for me?_

“Well, travelling through time might not undo the ring’s magic. But once I have regained the crystal, I won’t be as limited in my powers. I might even be able to do something about that toll my ancestors asked of you.”

Hope again. How badly Noctis wanted to give him hope. Because he was seeing a happy ending in front of him, he couldn’t stand for his friends to remain in a dark place.

“How about we stop acting as if I need fixing in the present?” Ignis asked, making an effort to keep his voice steady.

He felt broken as it was and knew his own attitude wasn’t helping. Getting over his handicap would take time and it was the one thing they had aplenty now. Noctis squared his shoulders, wishing he had the right words to comfort his friend.

“I can try. Will you go off on your own again during our stay?”

“Might as well enjoy the chance I have now. I most certainly can convince Prompto and Gladio to follow me on a few escapades, since I’m sure you’d appreciate more time alone with the princess.”

Ignis was glad he could see Noctis’s blush. It had been a long time since he’d seen his friend flustered.

“I hope we can try to spend time together, I mean the five of us.”

“That’d be nice.”

…

“What the hell happened to your faces?!” Prompto exclaimed as both men stepped into the room where Gladiolus, the gunman and the Oracle waited for them. Luna was sitting on her own couch, with Pryna’s head on her lap and Umbra lying at her feet.

Noctis couldn’t help but notice the distance the guys kept from her and wondered how awkward things would be between the woman he loved and his friends for the time they would spend together. And if that awkwardness would remain when she’d get back to the present with them.

“We may have…”

Ignis wasn’t quite sure how to describe their altercation, so Noctis stepped in.

“…Argued?” he supplied his friend. “Ignis lost his patience and punched me square in the face. So I repaid him in kind.”

“You did not…?!” Gladiolus asked the advisor, a large grin threatening to take over his features. “When I barely shove him around, you go ahead and…”

“I think I have good reasons to lack self-control,” Ignis defended himself almost instantly, gesturing to push his glasses higher on his nose only to realize he wasn't wearing his glasses with a scowl.

“Wow. Did we pack ebony recently?” Prompto asked, feigning worry.

A small laugh was shared among the guys, although Noctis didn’t fully feign offense at the clear meaning of Gladio’s jab.

“How come you all act as though I should be punched?!”

“So self-centered,” his shield commented, as though that should answer everything.

“I beg to differ,” Luna interfered, gathering the four men’s attention, their easy smile shifting to seriousness. The sudden weight of their gazes on her made her blush despite how used she was to speaking in front of a crowd. “I mean… Noctis might have pushed you to come to this time, but…”

“You never told us how cute your princess could get.”

“Gladio!” Noctis instantly chided him.

Prompto wasn’t sure how to help the Oracle regain her composure, but she got to her feet, decided to tackle the situation from another angle.

“I can fix that bruising,” she started. “While I don’t recommend making it a habit to punch each other...”

Ignis frowned, while Noctis seemed ready to protest, but Luna had already stepped over the distance between them. Seeing her alive, standing in the same room was still quite surreal and the prince couldn’t oppose to her touch as she gently cupped his face. His friends sensed the intimacy in her touch, Gladio himself feeling as though they were intruding on a moment that should have stayed between the royals. Still, they couldn’t look away, having never seen such a pure magic before.

A prayer and a brush of their foreheads and the bruising and tightness to Noctis’s jaw vanished, along with a few aches he hadn’t even realized in his joints. He’d barely had time to process what her magic felt during the covenant, but now he could tell how warm and gentle it was. Unlike the crystal and his elemancy, which made his skin burn, freeze or itch with pinpricks of lightning bolts, her light was just as soft as her skin. He wanted to pull her in his arms, afraid her legs might not hold her. She’d been so weak the other day and he didn’t want her to push herself and had no idea what using her magic did to her after carrying his father’s ring for so long. Recalling that his friends were still around, he settled for a light squeeze on her shoulders and giving her a warm smile.

“That’s… Thank you.”

Lunafreya seemed just as content to have the chance to heal him. After all these years, after Leviathan and Ardyn, they were together.

 _It won’t kill her either. It’s just a tiny bruise. She’s fixed far worse,_ he reminded himself.

He could tell the princess didn’t want to part from him so soon, but she still took a sidestep to get a better look at Ignis’s own shiner.

“There’s no need,” Ignis declared, raising his hands in objection.

“As a healer, I strive for equality. And you’ve paid quite a price to protect our chosen King.”

Wasn’t it the least she could do?

“You should rest instead of…”

His voice cut off as the Oracle stepped closer. Healing meant comfort and comfort might take away what little stability he had. He felt so raw and her eyes held so much care.

_Even if we save her, Noctis is still going to…_

He flinched backward as she tentatively reached out and the rest of the guys exchanged worried glances. They’d never seen Ignis quite this tense.

“Maybe this would work better if we were alone,” Lunafreya offered, giving a brief look to Prompto and Gladiolus. The guys didn’t have to be begged and walked out of the room, Noctis following them as Luna gave him his own pointed look.

Ignis had half a mind to walk out too, since he doubted removing the bruise on his face would be enough to take away the turmoil in his heart.

“I mean only to ease your pain. I don’t need to touch you if you do not wish for it, but I don’t want to force my magic on you, Ignis.”

He sighed deeply. He hadn’t imagined those to be among the first words they’d exchanged.

“I had hoped to make a much better first impression, lady Lunafreya,” he confessed, straightening his shoulders.

The smile she gave him was so kind, he wanted to ask the gods how they could accept her passing.

“You can call me Luna. And don’t believe I wanted to appear as a frail thing ready to collapse when I’d first meet Noctis and the friends he told me so much about. You looked after him for so long… Thank you.”

She bit her lips as she realized a little too late her choice of words, but Ignis didn’t let his newfound bitterness take over. He didn’t need his eyes to look after the prince. This time, when she took a step forward, he merely tensed up. And her magic gently eased the smarting in his cheekbone. Her prayer was so low this time, he wondered if the words were spoken in another tongue. Her light soothed his nerves, taking away a good part of the tension in his limbs. It was terrifying to realize his body could be changed so easily, but Ignis didn’t feel threatened like he had when exposed to the ring of Lucii.

Her light gave him peace for a brief instant. He wasn’t sure he remembered a time when his mind was at peace, with everything he had to worry about during his entire life. But that reprieve was so welcome, if the bruising had been any worse, stretching out her light for even a minute longer, he might have wept.

“I wish I could do more,” Luna told him.

_I know the feeling._

…

Noctis was torn between his urge to spend all his time with Luna alone, but his friends were all worked up by the recent events and he realized they needed to be around him. Prompto suggested the five of them go out to enjoy dinner together and Ignis agreed to wait one more day before letting the Oracle sample his cooking. He was really eager to cook, but Gladio convinced him that he was owed a longer break.

For the first few steps on the street, Luna felt the need to hide herself again, but it soon became clear that no one was interested in bothering the Oracle, or was even capable of recognizing her. Ignis had gone through the trouble of procuring her new clothes and it was with a blue and white dress flowing around her calves that she stepped into the restaurant Prompto had spotted on their earlier stay in Altissia. The conversation was mostly the guys talking about their trip to the city of water, Lunafreya listening with a growing smile at the many anecdotes they had to tell.

“And then that guy acts like he’s doing us a favor by letting us help him fetching that stone for him,” Gladiolus explained.

“I have pictures of that bird!” Promto said excitedly.

“You’re going to make her dizzy with every picture you took,” Ignis cautioned.

“I love them. It looks like you four had a lot of fun during your travel. Is this a swamp?”

“Yeah, that was Steyliff grove. That place was crazy, the ceiling was water!”

“Amazing. I only ever read about it.”

“I remember Noctis falling down with crumbling bridge and right into a red giant arm,” Gladio teased the prince.

“That’s not how it happened!” Noctis tried protesting, but Luna’s hand on his calmed him down.

His friends wanted to have fun for once and they all needed a good laugh, even if it was at his expense here and there. Gladiolus insisted on ordering some wine to celebrate this improbable reunion and Luna surprised them all by downing her glass with ease. She blushed at the admirative whistling from the Shield and Prompto’s “whoot”, inching just a bit closer to Noctis on the bench they were sharing.

“Are you nervous?” Noctis asked her as lowly as he could.

He didn’t want to embarrass her, but she flushed a little more and gave a curt nod.

“I can’t remember the last time I did something like this.”

Noctis couldn’t help his heart swelling at the sight of her smile and the need to wrap an arm around her to hold her a brief instant took over his shyness. He still needed the reminder that she was really next to him, this wasn’t a dream.

“Careful there, lover boy,” Gladio chastised him. “If you make this princess blush anymore, the waiter might think we’re trying to get her drunk.”

“I’ll have you know it takes a lot more to get me drunk,” Luna objected, squaring her shoulders with a proud look on her face.

“Oh my gods, is that a challenge? We’re not doing that on our first night out, are we?” Prompto asked.

“Of course not. Neither you nor Noctis can hold your liquor,” Ignis joined in on the teasing.

“This sounds interesting,” Luna whispered, raising one curious brow at her fiancé.

“Guys, do you really need to embarrass me like this?”

“I’m sure the princess loves it when you’re flustered,” Gladio laughed.

“We need to get her caught up on a lot of things,” Ignis added.

“And Noctis is a happy drunk. He hired two guards for the castle just because he liked their smile.”

“Dear Carbuncle!” Noctis swore through clenched teeth. “You hired three maids that night, Gladio.”

“They were too lovely not to keep them around,” he said, his eyes searching the restaurant for their waitress who was just as lovely. Prompto had covered his mouth, while Lunafreya exchanged questioning looks with Noctis and Ignis and Gladio realized the potential misunderstanding. “Oh, that sounded sort of bad, didn’t it? I don’t usually pick up girls by giving them a job at the Citadel.”

“You did for your manor though,” Ignis was quick to remind him.

“Only once and she became Iris’s best friend and my worst enemy! I have mental scars from it!”

“Uh huh…”

“Gladio’s great at starting relationships, but not at making them last,” Noctis told Luna from under his hand.

“Noctis, don’t lie about me.”

“I would never!”

The discussion shifted to Tenebrae and Pryna, because Prompto loved that dog too much not to inquire about her. They enjoyed a second bottle of wine and a full plate of desserts. Luna wanted to resist the temptation, too use to passing up on sugary treats because the empire dictated it so, but Noctis wanted to spoil her rotten. He made sure to touch her every time he could, holding her hand under the table, letting their arms brush and to his amazement, she smiled for each and every attention, making it a point to also reach for him whenever she thought the guys weren’t looking at them.

When Prompto suggested a toast for the lovebirds, the pair of royals blushed, but allowed them their fun. If this was a simple reprieve they would enjoy it as best as they could.

By the time they were getting ready to pay, Luna couldn’t helped her eyes drifting to the streets outside, bright with lights and the moon reflecting on the water. There was something so peaceful about this place, she could just…

A brown head caught her attention from the distinctive hairstyle and she gasped, pulling on Noctis’s hand as she took a step forward.

“What is it?” the prince instantly asked.

Luna barely looked at him, tugging on his hands even more, looking pale and even terrified.

“I saw someone. Nyx Ulric.”

“Who?” Prompto asked, while Gladiolus frowned and Ignis quickly made an inventory of the persons he knew by that name.

There was only one.

“Maybe he came here on vacations?” Noctis suggested.

“That’s impossible. That man died in Insomnia.”

Which raised a very important question to the whole group. Were they really in Altissia? And if so, when exactly were they?!

To be continued…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Da da dan!!!! I have no shame. And it appears that I write more when I’m sick. It has more to do that I can’t focus well on school when sick. This story might get longer than I first planned, but we’ll just see how things go. Please, please review!


	7. Am I alive? And for how long?

“Can we go after him?” Luna asked.

“Of course.”

Noctis wasn’t sure why she even needed to ask, it was clear she had to look into this and the guys signaled they would take care of the bill for them. Nyx was walking at a normal pace, so the pair of royals had no difficulties catching up to him at the turn of the road.

“Excuse me,” Luna called out to the man.

Like everyone around Altissia, he didn’t look back and Noctis had to grab his shoulder and pull him back one step to grab his attention.

“I’m sorry, sir, but…”

His voice died down in his throat at the sight that greeted them, the brunet turning around to look at them with eyes that leaked of dark tears, the white of his eyes nothing but darkness, his head cocking to the side as he took in Luna.

“What…? Is this the blight?” she managed, paling and fighting against her urge to back away.

“Princess?” Nyx asked, his voice coming out garbled. It echoed in a strange way and Noctis was convinced no stage of the blight could have that effect on someone.

“I thought… you were dead.”

“Am I? I’ve been here for… For... When did you got here? It’s really hard to remember when the last arrival was due. The boss has been gone for… I can’t remember when it comes to time here, silly, huh?”

Luna wasn’t sure she was facing the right man, but she couldn’t help the feeling he held some answers to their current and very improbable situation. He chuckled and coughed, a droplet of black tar remaining at the corner of his mouth.

“You need treatment, Nyx,” she insisted.

“We don’t need anything here. You shouldn’t either, princess. Who’s that guy? He looks familiar.”

Noctis kept Luna from reaching out to Nyx, all his senses on high alert.

“This is wrong,” he whispered to her ear. “No one around here looks like this. Or sounds like this.”

“I hadn’t seen anyone in a long time before you came to get me,” she reminded him, lowering her voice like he had, before turning her attention back to Nyx. “You mentioned an arrival of something.”

“If you don’t know about it, I can’t tell you.”

“Have you been like this for long?” the princess insisted.

“As long as the red core burns.”

Luna gasped, recognizing a maxim that ran only in the empire, referring to Niflheim’s emblematic blazon and its magitek technology. A passerby bumped into them and Noctis realized their eyes were circled with black tar too. Was it because the sun had set, revealing the illusion of a peaceful Altissia up till now? Was the time running out on them?

“Oh princess, you know how to answer the red core’s burn, don’t you? Maybe your friend does. If not, the penalty has to strike.”

Heads turned at the word penalty and Noctis couldn’t hold still anymore. He pulled his shivering princess close and summoned a sword, warping away from the scene without even thinking. In three throws they were standing on a nearby building’s roof and Luna couldn’t help a nervous scream as she saw dozens of black eyes looking up to them, eyebrows twitching, black tar coming out noses, dripping down crooked smiles and even staining hair as it flowed out of their ears. She recognized a few faces outside of Nyx’s and understanding dawned on her, making her heart shudder in her chest.

“They’re not sick, Noctis. They’re all dead.”

She had only one foot on the roof, Noctis being the main reason she could still stand up as the shock wracked through her.

“Oh gods.”

“I must be next.”

“We don’t know that, Luna.”

“Nyx died, I saw him, and so did that man!” she managed despite her short breathing, her finger failing to point at anyone as the shaking got stronger.

“We need to get out of their sight right now. Hold on to me,” Noctis asked, looking for a place where they could disappear.

He wanted to go back to being ignored and just enjoy time with her, was that too much to ask? Was he going to wake up from a nightmare that had lasted longer than all the others?

“You shouldn’t be here Noct, but maybe I should stay. This is wrong.”

“Do you really want to stay down there with them?”

He gave her time to make up her mind, time to look down at this street, lit up for the festival, with everyone on it staring right back at them, Nyx repeated the word “penalty” which was starting to be chanted by the whole street of people. There were children afflicted by that black tar too, there were…

Luna wanted to call on her light but something told her she couldn’t heal this. Her heart broke at the thought and she hid her face against Noctis’s chest.

“No, no, no, no no no no no, I can’t…!”

He held her closer, kissing the top of her hair, fighting against the many fears growing in his mind. If these people were dead, was she going to end up like them in a matter of days? What about his friends? Would staying here affect them somehow? Had he doomed the entire world by staying in this weird version of the past where dead people roamed among the living, talking and crying black tears of a substance he couldn’t identify?

“It’s okay, I’m not letting you go. Just hold on to me.”

“I should help them, not run away,” she opposed, shaking her head weakly.

It felt as though this macabre discovery had sapped all of her remaining strength.

“Luna, please.”

“Princess!” Nyx called out, having crossed the street and reaching an arm up to her.

Noctis decided they’d waited enough and warped, feeling Luna’s shivering form hanging on tight to him as they blurred forward, vanishing into the night. He refused to go back to the streets, halting when they seemed isolated enough to text his friends a word of warning, to which Gladio called him crazy, but he was more worried about the young Oracle shaking in his arms than any name his Shield could call him.

“Luna…”

“I’m c...cold.” she defended herself, teeth chattering together as she tried to rub some warmth back in her arms.

Noctis mentally chided himself for not taking her coat as they’d walked out of the restaurant and wrapped his jacket around her, pulling her in for a bear hug while keeping his eyes on their surroundings. Nothing moved in the night, they could hear people talking in the distance, but the litany of “penalty” was gone and all they were left with was the sick picture of Nyx crying and laughing, his skin greying a bit.

“How can these people be dead?” he asked, as much to himself as to her.

Her hands clasped to his shirt as she shook her head in desperation.

“You travelled into the past, Noct,” she reminded him, her shaking calming down but her shoulders jumping at every few words. She was doing everything she could to keep herself together. “Maybe there’s a plane where the dead go before crossing to the Astral planes?” she swallowed, hard enough for Noctis to hear it before going on. “It makes no sense with what I’ve learned, but no gods ever possessed the power to travel through time and here Umbra brought you anyway. I know Nyx died. And there were other glaives I saw in Insomnia. That little girl in the back had a fever in Tenebrae before I received my powers…”

She felt too frail between his arms and Noctis had no idea how to comfort her. He was just as shaken, but it seemed all strength had left her.

“Let’s try and get back to the hotel. We’ll regroup with the guys.”

The Leville wasn’t far, but it took a lot of cuddling to convince Luna they’d be fine going back in the streets. She apologized in the middle of her protests, wishing to be stronger than this.

“Luna, you don’t have to be strong right now. This whole thing is terrifying.”

“You should stop this torture and go back to the present before I turn into one of them,” she insisted, shaking like a leaf by now.

Noctis would have shaken her up if she wasn’t so fragile on her feet. Instead he held her close, giving her time, whispering into her hair, “you’re with me Luna, stay with me, just hang on for a little longer and you can rest.”

“I shouldn’t need rest if I’m already gone, why do I even feel so weak?” she managed through her hacked sobs.

“Because you’re not gone yet!” he told her. “Luna, please, stop assuming you’re already dead, it’s killing me.”

“Oh Noct, I’m sorry, I just… My tears are clear, aren’t they?”

He kissed the corner of her eye in a swift, desperate motion, drying her tears hastily as he cupped her face with both hands.

“Look at me Luna.”

She gripped to his wrists, needing his touch more than anything else in the world right now.

“I lost you twice in my life already. I’m not letting it happen again, you hear me? No imperial, no giant snake fish, no…” he halted himself before mentioning Ardyn, since she was still ignorant to the exact circumstances of her demise. “I’m.not.losing.you.again.”

There was such pain and determination in his eyes, she hated herself a little more for putting him through this.

“I’m here,” she said, hoping it would comfort him or at least convince herself. “I want to be by your side and I don’t want to let go.”

Her hands tightened their grasp on him and Noctis wanted to squeeze her closer than would be comforting, because he was just as shaken as her. Instead, he tried to have her calm down.

“You’re alive Luna,” he insisted, feeling bold enough to lower one hand and find her pulse with the gentle press of his thumb on her chest. “I can feel your heart and if you need me to make you feel alive, I will, for every day we can share.”

She gasped as she restrained a sob, her hands moving from her mouth to her eyes as relief slowly crept into her heart. How could it thump so steadily if she was dead? How could she cry and hurt so much if she was gone? Noctis was alive, he was warm, she could feel him and that had to mean…

“I’m so scared this could stop with the blink of an eye.”

“I’d tell you not to blink, but your eyes will get really dry if you do that,” Noctis awkwardly tried himself at humor.

She simply sighed and hid her face against his chest once more.

“I think I can go back down if you don’t let me look at them,” she suggested.

Her voice was still frail, a shadow of what it was during her speech to Altissia and Noctis wondered if she would ever remember it or if it was better she didn’t. There were so many questions in his heart, but answering either of them was akin to breaking both of them.

The warp down was softer than the previous ones, Noctis needing to save his strength to keep his cool as they walked between the passersby. He still noticed the black tar coming out of their eyes and ears. None of them paid the pair any mind and they walked back to the lobby of the Leville unharmed. Luna was still shaking as Noctis supported most of her weight, his arms firmly wrapped around her. Gladio, Prompto and Ignis were all already there, waiting with puzzled looks on their faces.

“What was this deal with weird activities outside?” Gladio instantly asked.

“More importantly, is Luna okay?” Prompto interfered. “She looks ready to collapse.”

“And like you just ran a marathon. Did you warp the whole way back here?” Ignis inquired in a lower tone.

Luna instantly felt bad and pushed on Noctis’s chest to get out of his embrace.

“I can walk on my…”

She faltered on her first step and Noctis held her steady before either of his friends could react.

“Easy there. Let’s take this to our room first,” he offered, lifting Luna in his arms bridal style.

They all followed him, Gladio overly cautious of their surroundings while Prompto was fidgeting nervously, Ignis burning with a growing impatience of knowing what could have put the Oracle in such a state. The poor lady was throwing wild glances around and barely calmed down when Noctis settled her on one of the beds, Pryna instantly jumping on the mattress to look after her mistress. Luna started to shiver so violently when Noctis pulled away, he feared she could fall into another panic unless he held her.

“Luna,” he tried not to let his voice waver, but seeing her in such a state worried him.

He wanted her to be safe and right now, this past was hurting her.

“I can’t stop wondering why they’re here,” she admitted, before adding in a whisper, “and why I’m here.”

“Slow down a minute,” Gladio demanded, tired of being kept out of the loop.

Ever since they’d travelled in time, he felt as though he was always the last one understanding the situation.

“Who are _they_?” he insisted.

“More like what are they,” Noctis shot back, shifting awkwardly as he tried to find a comfortable position with Luna wrapped under his left arm, her hands tied to his shirt. “That Nyx oozed black tar from every of his orifices and as soon as he realized we weren’t familiar with how things work here, the whole street stared at us, chanting about a penalty. It was like a live version of The Tonberries Walk!”

Prompto covered his ears in fright while Ignis crossed his arms over his chest and Gladio’s frown deepened.

“A penalty?” the advisor repeated.

Luna found her voice to join the discussion, not letting go of Noctis’s hand.

“I thought it was the blight but my light wouldn’t… I can sense people and what I sensed was… That wasn’t people. It was worse than what I feel in front of magitek soldiers.”

Noctis’s face darkened and Prompto let out a strangled gasp, but Ignis was quick to comment these new facts.

“This is quite disturbing. We were looking out for anomalies, but everyone we saw looked perfectly human. No black tar, even when we bumped into someone.”

“I was nervous!” Prompto pointed out. “And the one thing that keeps feeling weird is how everyone acts like we just stop existing as soon as we’re out of sight,” the gunman continued. “What if it was a sign? Does this mean we’re surrounded by dead people?” his voice came out too high as he finished and Noctis shivered with Luna this time, squeezing her waist.

_Not her._

“This is preposterous!” Gladio groaned, throwing his hands in the air.

“As preposterous as travelling in time?” Ignis offered, pinching the bridge of his nose as he sensed a headache coming.

Umbra whined softly as he curled up on himself, while Pryna pressed herself against Luna’s legs, humming plaintively with her ears lowered.

“I’m still trying to process the time travel part, but I’d rather not have to deal with zombies,” Gladio defended himself. “The princess saw one of the glaives who shouldn’t even be here to begin with. So what will be next? I get to see my father?!”

The shield didn’t manage to fully hold back his pain and Noctis winced as he realized how much of a torture this might prove to be for each of his friends. He kept forgetting what Gladio had lost since the start of this journey and in his haste to look after Luna, he might very well forget to look after the men he considered as brothers.

They all wanted to explore things some more, but Luna’s clear shock convinced Ignis they had better wait until they had more information to ponder on this development any longer.

“We’re all at risk of meeting someone we know given the circumstances,” the advisor remarked for Gladio’s sake, “but while staying on our guards, I’m under the impression we won’t be in trouble unless we provoke these…”

“Tarberries?” Prompto supplied, between excitement and terror.. “I’m guessing we could call them tarberries. I can’t believe our lives are turning into a horror movie!”

Luna uttered a smile at that, since it sounded funny somehow and after debating just a minute longer, the three men exited the room, Prompto having convinced Pryna of following them. Noctis turned his entire attention back on Luna, who blushed as she realized how clingy she was acting.

“How are you feeling?” he asked her.

“Not myself. Now that I think of it, how do we know I’m your Luna and not just a reflection of the past… A reflection waiting to shatter like everyone else…”

Noctis stared at her with horrified eyes at first, too shocked to speak and when he found his voice again, it was to turn her thinking around.

“What does that make me then? I can’t be your Noctis unless you are…”

“No, what I meant is…”

“I know what you meant, but it hurts. I came to this now, to this time for you. Not a picture-perfect princess or the approximative idea our notebook gave me of you. I came back in time to have you in my life. There cannot be more than one Lunafreya.”

 _And that Luna died…_ she thought with a whimper.

“How do you know it’s me?”

“Because you’re so damn selfless. What is scarier? Being alive or being with me?”

It was Luna’s turn to be shocked and she slapped his thigh in protest, albeit so weakly it almost felt like a caress.

“You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to be with you! What scares me is what would happen if this time, this present is all we can have. I’m not selfless right now, Noct, I want every hour of your life, every color in your eyes, the peace of your arms and to know the promises we made as children will see the light of day.”

Noctis wanted her to keep that mindset and stop jumping from them to her impending death. Instead he pulled her into a kiss, unable to hold back on his need, Luna doing her best to answer his fire with as much fire. She held his face in her hands, his despair mixing with hers and when he laid her down, she moaned her approval, even it if meant running away from reality. She couldn’t understand reality anymore and he was better than any truth she had learned. He could have kissed her like this for hours, but her strength betrayed her, her hands falling on either side of her head as she looked for air.

“You okay?” Noctis asked, nestling her head under one arm.

“I feel too weak to move,” she admitted, an apology ringing on the back of her words.

He kissed the tears of shame on her cheeks, cuddling her until she accepted the idea she’d get better with rest.

“You’re spoiling me,” Luna sighed. “I wish I could spoil you back instead of needing so much care.”

“You need to let me be your prince for once.”

“Will my prince stay with me? Make sure I don’t… turn into one of those tarberries?”

Noctis bit back the worry that surged deep inside at how serious she sounded. He didn’t want to give root to this fear, although he knew she might be right.

 _Don’t be right this time,_ he pleaded.

“I’ll stay and keep watch. In a few years, you can call me a creep for it.”

Her laugh was really weak, but her smile stayed on as her eyes fluttered closed. He watched over her, giving in to the need to check her pulse every few hours. Right now, his Luna was alive. And he was going to keep her that way.

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, things aren’t looking so good, but they’re not that bad either. I have a lot of answers coming to all the questions raised by this chapter. The next one should have the chocobros and fluff with Noct/Luna. I’m thinking of upping the rating of this fic because with the situation, Luna might turn out much bolder than her usual since she believes she has a time limit to her happiness with Noctis. Let me know what you’d think of smut in this story.


	8. On finding peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is obviously getting more than 10 chapters by now. Today we have chocobromance, angst – one day I want to write a fic taking place in Altissia without a hint of angst-… and we’ll have fluff. I hope you enjoy!

Once he was certain Luna was asleep, the prince had made a quick check on his phone and realized how worried each of his friends were. He tasked Umbra with looking over Lunafreya, scratching the dog’s ears as he whispered, “Don’t let anything happen to her while I’m gone.”

He couldn’t leave his retinue in the dark and if he was honest with himself, he was too shaken to find sleep right now, even if he wanted noting more than to crawl next to Luna and hold her tight throughout the night.

“So what happened?” Gladio asked as soon as Noctis walked into the room.

“Altissia is infested with dead people. If they died during the covenant or not is another question entirely, but I swear it’s true. Luna said it looked like the scourge, but she can’t fix it. And I don’t want her to try in the shape she’s in. That Nyx said something about the red core burning…”

Ignis swore out loud.

“It’s a saying in the imperial army,” the advisor explained. “A good luck wish that must be answered correctly to prove you’re not a spy.”

“How do you know that?” Prompto asked with an incredulous look on his face.

Ignis rose his glasses a bit higher and Gladio shrugged.

“He knows everything,” the Shield snorted. “Except time travel stuff. Did we even travel in time or are we _somewhere_ else instead of _“somewhen”_ else?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Noctis sighed. “Umbra is supposed to travel through time, but Luna herself doesn’t understand that power of his. The dogs are supposed to be messengers. If we’re the messages, where would they deliver us?”

Prompto held his head, tapping his temple with one finger as he tried a decent answer.

“Can we just accept that our lives are now in a horror movie? I don’t care if it’s _Inception_ or _Dawn of the dead_ , I want out!”

“Prompto, _Inception_ is not a horror movie,” Ignis reminded him.

“But what if we’re dreaming all of this?! How horrible would it be?”

Noctis winced and Gladiolus instantly shifted the subject, hoping it would divert his prince.

“Those tarberries are fake for all we know. Why would Umbra take us to a plane of hell or some sort of waiting room for dying people?”

Noctis raised his hands in defeat.

“I swear to you Gladio, I saw them,” he insisted. “Luna didn’t dream them up. I don’t know what triggered the tar from their eyes, but it was the first time I was out at night in this time, whatever this version of Altissia is.”

“Oh, oh, that could be it. A parallel universe!” Prompto exclaimed, looking more excited than worried with this potential conclusion.

“We’re getting nowhere, throwing ideas at each other,” Ignis observed. “I’ve never come across texts even remotely addressing the subject of messenger dogs from Tenebrea, no one here seem to remember us once we’re done talking to them. A woman literally told me the same sentence three times in a row on our walk back.”

“We need to know the rules,” Noctis admitted. “And I don’t want to stay here any longer than we need, but Luna is so damn scared right now. She’s convinced she will be next…”

His voice shivered on the last words and his friends looked at him with pained eyes, Prompto merely managing a few words before to be interrupted.

“I can’t go through it another time,” Noctis blurted out, grabbing at fistfuls of his hair, desperately trying to hold himself together.

It felt like a punch to the gut to see him this shaken once more. He hadn’t opened up back in the present, had refused to talk about the covenant and his loss, rejecting their shoulder or gentle slap on the back and kept to himself for days. Gladiolus was fully realizing just how deeply in love his friend and protégé was and to think he could have to lose the princess twice…

As always, it was their gunman who stepped up, pulling the prince in for a hug which Noctis didn’t fight. On the contrary, he held back to his friend as though his life depended on it.

“Dude…” Prompto sighed. “We’ll do everything we can…”

“What if there’s nothing _I_ can do?! What if I just wake up from this and…?”

This time, there was a shudder to his breathing and Prompto shook his head, desperately fighting against his own tears as both men held onto each other tighter.

“Then you make every day here count, Noct,” Ignis pragmatically offered, forcing himself to remain rooted where he stood.

Noctis looked up to his advisor at that, a terrible question remaining in his eyes, his face too pale as he considered the possibility Ignis knew more about Luna’s fate than he’d let on.

The tension in the room was palpable and neither of them could handle it.

Gladiolus felt the need to pull the three of them in his arms if it could help, but he seriously wondered how he was supposed to help alleviate Noctis’s state of mind after dismissing his loss for the past few weeks. Especially when Ignis was trying to keep him down on earth in case things didn’t go well.

“There, there, lover boy, you’re going to make Lunafreya jealous at this rate!” he warned.

Noctis managed a laugh, sniffling a bit as he took a step away from Prompto, not hiding himself as he dried his tears.

“I’m sorry for being such a damn mess, guys.”

“We’re not only here for the good times,” Ignis reminded him.

Prompto nodded in agreement, before adding with a wink. “Although, I wouldn’t say no to a game or something. Take each of our minds off all the dark thoughts and questions.”

“Maybe resting…” Ignis suggested, clearly worrying about how long they’d all been up.

“You think that boy can sleep like this?” Gladio chuckled. “He’ll want to slip back in bed with the princess and we can’t let him show up looking like hell. Lucian men have a reputation to uphold.”

Noctis frowned at that, while Prompto covered his snicker with one hand.

“Am I a boy or a man, make up your mind, goliath.”

“And what’s that reputation all about?” Prompto inquired.

“Being a manly and vile beast, I presume,” Ignis offered, raising his glasses a little higher on the bridge of his nose, fighting against a light smirk at the Shield’s offended expression.

“Vile?! I’m every part the gentleman,” Gladio protested, giving their bespectacled friend a push strong enough to threaten his balance.

“I’ve heard different testimonies from a couple of teenage girls, but my memory could be mistaken.”

“Oh yeah, his exes almost all tried going out with Iggy. I don’t even get to be a left-over prize,” Prompto declared with an over-exaggerated sigh.

“Left over prize?!” the advisor repeated.

“Ha ha!” Gladio

“What about that game you mentioned earlier?” Noctis asked, his smile staying on as he saw the offended expressions switching from Ignis to Gladio now.

He certainly didn’t need an argument between the two over some old _love_ conquests. Not that Ignis ever started argument, he simply rectified or clarified things.

“Cards? We can bet to know which one of us gets to sleep in his own bed tonight” the Shield said.

“Oh no, I’m not sharing my bed with a manly and vile beast,” the gunman warned cheekily.

…

Her fingers were freezing and her legs so numb, she wasn’t sure how her knees hadn’t buckled yet. Her flesh was failing her, her whole body holding up from a mix of sheer will and the vitality enhancer Ravus had bullied her into taking. The ring burned against her skin, pulling down on her very soul. The air she breathed was filled with traces of the scourge, as its evil was slowly running rampant. Altissia had felt better than the empire at first, but the particles of dark matter were now burning her nostrils and lungs. The salty water stung her eyes.

The covenant had started, and she couldn’t help worrying about the other time her chosen King had fought against the gods. Were they all that big and brutal?

Noctis warped and phased far up in the sky, moving in blurs, the sea goddess whipping about violently, causing waves to crash against every boat and bank.

Lunafreya remembered a time when he couldn’t walk, in fact, she’d never seen him walk before today, and now… he was grander than life.

The titanic fight faded out, Luna feeling hard ground beneath her knees and the tear in her dress. She couldn’t see at first, the weakness when her eyes worked again, the first thing she saw was a sound. Ardyn’s voice was so inflexible, so menacing, it almost carried it’s own path on the wind as he walked up to her.

“Now… about that ring…”

Her blood froze and she gasped, her chest seizing as she struggled against the alarms in her brain. Noctis was the only thing that mattered. Where was Noctis? What had happened? Why was she falling now when nothing was over yet? She saw the chancellor standing over her, his back turned, his boots making no sound as he swirled around, crouching to look her straight in the eyes, his arm moving following a precise arc.

“On second thought... you let him have it.”

The pain bloomed like a fire, a bright light covering her sight as her breath was cut short. It was a sharp, sharp edge lacerating her, digging inside, tearing her open with a half twist.

“And do remind him about the crystal,” the man added.

Her ears were ringing and sounds were coming out of her lips, despicable, weak sounds of pain when she should have raised her trident, she should have seen the blade Ardyn had been holding in his front, she couldn’t...

He pulled the blade back, parting the wound wider, as quick as he’d been while he’d struck. Luna hit the stone floor with a thud, her nerves ending as her world tipped over. It was a struggle to raise one arm, a struggle to order her sore muscles into moving enough so she could raise herself back somehow. Inch by inch, while her heart pounded, blood seeping out the wound, she stood to look him in the eyes.

Her magic knew it was fatal, and so did she just from the taste of blood in her mouth.

“Oh prince!” Ardyn called, playful in his twistedness. “Your bride awaits!”

She could see the smile on his lips and sensed the conflict in the man, the darkness unfurling through every one of his pores.

_He’s hurting. He’s killed me. He’s in pain. He’s hurting Noctis._

She told him something about the ring, assuaging she’d keep her duty first, before focusing on the darkness in him. This she could fix, not the hole between her ribs, not the blood on her dress or the shivers in her flesh, but this man was something she could fix. She only wished she’d seen it before…

“All darkness that thralls… shall know peace,” she promised.

He slapped her as the light touched too deep, trying to unwarp what time had consumed and tarnished. Her hair fell out of her bun, her head hitting the floor with a cracking sound and when she sat back up, Luna was too dizzy to speak. It was getting harder and harder to focus and she heard him declare with a flourish.

“How sweet. But please, Lady Lunafreya… You first.”

_Peace for you first, peace in death, peace for your dying line…_

Her heart quivered in unrest as her vision faded out once more. Her trident was lying on the ground. Her blood felt cold in her very veins. And all her thoughts were turning to Noctis.

This was how she’d lose him.

…

 Noctis was woken up by Luna’s elbow hitting his chin and the sheets being ripped away from him. She was shaking like a leaf and struggling against his limbs, not recognizing him or the room they were in.

“I don’t want peace, I don’t want… !”

“Luna,” Noctis whispered, tentatively grabbing her shoulders.

She whimpered at the touch as though her entire body was a bundle of pain, struggling twice as hard to free herself from his grasp and Noctis bit his tongue as she slapped him, falling on his side but refusing to let go of her.

“Oww. Luna, I’m sorry, I want to help, but I can’t unless…”

She blinked, the remnant of her nightmare still haunting her but recognition slowly making its way into her brain.

“Noct? I’m alive?”

His eyes twitched in pain as Noctis tried to swallow back a shuddering breath.

“I’m really alive?!” Luna insisted, gripping to his shirt, her panic overwhelming him.

“You are…”

“He stabbed me, didn’t he? That’s how it started… I mean how it ended.”

He remembered seeing her from afar. Sensing the change in her magic and gasping while his body couldn’t move, his broken back condemning him to watch in horror. He could barely find his voice and his words even less.

“How…? Luna, it’s not…”

“I can still feel his dagger biting into me,” she told him, her voice messy with her too rapid breathing.

_Oh gods, why are you doing this to her?_

“You’re safe,” he tried reassuring her, but fell silent as Luna jumped to her feet to pull her dress off.

She almost got herself stuck in the fabric in her haste and asked for his help, still shaking violently.

“What are you doing?”

“I need to make sure it’s not there,” the young Oracle tried explaining, kicking the floor with the ball of her feet as she tried to fend off the dress that prevented her from seeing the wound she could still feel.

Noctis had the largest knot in his throat by then, but he helped her out of the garment, blushing as he realized she wasn’t wearing a bra underneath. Luna was too frantic to worry about what he could and couldn’t see, feeling her sides as she checked herself for any mark, any scar, any sign the fatal wound she’d dreamed up wasn’t simply a dream.

“He stabbed me, I felt it, I was there, it was…”

But among the bruises from being handled too roughly by MTs and the few magic scars that were still healing from her fight against the Scourge, there was no wound. No hint to any stabbing.

“Luna, please, you’re hurting yourself,” Noctis pleaded for her to calm down, unable to handle her bewildered eyes any longer.

“I don’t want to go like this,” she told him, tears overflowing. “The scourge is still rampant and I…”

He drew her back to the bed so she would sit in his lap, until her head was next to his, his lips on her eyelids and their shivers shared.

“You’re not going anywhere,” he promised. “Not on your own and surely not without me.”

“But that dream was the truth, wasn’t it? It’s why you kissed that very spot the other day, it’s…”

He wanted to tell her wrong but he could see the awful pictures of Ardyn standing next to her whenever he blinked. If only he’d been able to hold her. To retain his consciousness after the battle. To feel something other than this longing and utter despair as her gentle face faded into a sea of sylleblossoms.

“I’m sorry,” he managed through his tight throat, stroking her hair. “I should have protected you. I’m so sorry, Luna.”

 It was a harsh way to wake up, but holding on to each other helped them calm down, Luna soon apologizing for making him sad when they should have been focusing on the fact they were together.

“You’ve been through a lot, I don’t want you to pretend you’re happy for my sake.”

“I’m not pretending,” the princess assured him. “I’m glad you came for me.”

She cupped his face at that, sniffling and flushing with embarrassment at how undignified she most certainly looked, Noctis brushing her hair out of her eyes.

“Can I kiss you?”

His shyness was endearing and so was the way he leaned into her every touch. His hands on her bare back were soft and careful, his nose brushing hers as she pulled on his shirt to have him closer.

“Noct, for the time we’re here… Don’t ever ask me.”

She initiated the kiss, a bit rough from her impression their time together was still limited. It was still so new but being almost fully naked in his arms already made her feel bolder and she pressed herself closer to him, Noctis leaning back on the bed while pulling her after him, grunting in approval as she laid her full weight on him.

“Lun…”

“Shh… Touch me. Help me feel alive.”

Noctis held her waist firmly, his fingers outlining the healthy skin over her ribs before to drift all over her, drawing shivers and contented sighs from her while Luna followed her instincts. She discarded his clothes one by one, exploring him greedily, pinching, teasing, caressing and even daring to kiss and nibble at his skin before her prince turned them around.

They kissed tenderly, desperately, endlessly and it was a war between their need to breathe and their desire for connection, a battle between the gentleness they wanted to share and the rush they felt from this awful wake-up.

“I love you,” she told him.

“I love you so much, Luna.”

They leaned forehead to forehead an instant, his hands on either side of her face, her fingers drifting from his hair to his shoulders. Their breath had mingled long ago and they weren’t sure how far things should go, Noctis feeling a lot more hesitant than her. Luna’s hands were bold on his skin, making him gasp and stir and she smiled at the doubts in his eyes.

“Love me now,” she invited him.

“Always,” he wanted to correct her, but her hips moved in a way that left no place in his imagination as to what she wanted.

Their following kiss was heated, nothing but passion and lust and the hesitation was ready to die down when a violent knock on the door made them part to look up.

“Guys?” Prompto’s nervous voice could be heard through the door.

“What is it?” Noctis shot back, his voice harsher than intended.

“I’m sorry, but you should look out your window. There’s some… of those things.”

Luna turned whiter than a sheet, Noctis slowly kneeling on the mattress as he looked at the door and then the window and back to the door.

“That can’t…”

A violent scream and glass breaking in the neighboring room told him he had better check things out before assuming Prompto was messing around with him. He took the time to pull his pants back on and called forth his engine blade, Luna covering herself with the sheets. As he pulled the curtain open, Noctis couldn’t hold back a gasp of horror.

Staring right into their window intently was Clarus Amicitia, black tar dripping from his eyes and ears, a pale woman that neither Noctis nor Luna recognized standing next to the previous King’s Shield. Four hands were scrapping at the glass, the two undead’s lips moving, their words muffled by the wind outside and the panel of glass between them. How had they even gotten up here?!

“Guys!” Prompto called, sounding desperate now.

Noctis couldn’t move, his brain trying to process what he was seeing.

“They’re gathering all over the place!”

“We need to get out,” Ignis added from further away with a strain to his voice.

Pryna let out a whine and it kicked Luna and Noctis into action, the princess quickly throwing her dress back on, Noctis collecting their most important belongings into his infinite pocket while keeping an eye on the creatures outside. If he considered them like human, he wouldn’t be able to run or fight them if they proved aggressive. Why had they even gathered here? Why?

“They got inside the hotel!” Prompto screamed. “S… stay back! Oh, for Etro’s sake!”

Gunshots followed his warning and Noctis wrapped one arm around Luna before she could materialize her trident.

“They must be coming for me,” she muttered, an apology written all over her face.

“We don’t know that.”

They didn’t know anything. But at least they were together.

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter isn’t weak, because I’ve had a rough week so far. The first half of the event I work in went well, but it was warm and demanding and there was a dead in my family. Feels like life wants to keep me down. It better stop trying before I snap.
> 
> After receiving your feedback, there will be no smut on this site’s version of the story, but I publish the story on AO3 too, so next chapter will have two versions. Rest assured that I don’t normally make different versions of my stories, this is a special case. I knew I might want to up the rating at some point by the time I put the story on AO3 while I hadn’t when I first published it on here.
> 
> As a side note, Ardyn’s lines are taken directly from the English version of the game and that dreadful scene I don’t want to watch again. I don’t like using parts of a game words for words when I write a fic, but this is a special case which shouldn’t happen again, unless Luna has more nightmares.
> 
> As always, reviews motivate me greatly. 


	9. When your nightmares are real

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wild chapter has appeared! So this fic is verging on the horror side now, which wasn’t really planned, but is really enjoyable. Let’s take away that nasty cliffhanger from last time. I hope you enjoy the action and the following hurt/comfort.

Noctis had his armiger waiting to flicker awake upon stepping out of the room, meeting Prompto’s desperate expression before to take note of the many “tar-berries” walking up the stairs and stepping over their already fallen comrades. They spoke low, repeating the word “penalty” and Luna was shivering against him now, her hands lighting up as she called upon her own magic.

For an instant, the tar-berries halted their motion and both Noctis and Prompto went still. There was a violent crashing sound coming from the other room, the one Ignis and Gladio were still occupying if Noctis wasn’t wrong and next thing he knew, he heard the distinctive sound of glass shattering. Clarus’s voice rose, an angry screeching that was covered by Gladiolus’s even angrier shout.

Noctis was trying not to look too hard at the zombies’ faces. Cause that had to be what they were. Zombies… His heart was beating madly and after standing still, staring at Luna’s lit hands as though she was the messiah coming with a message from the heavens, they all suddenly took a step forward. He quickly counted how many people were standing in the hallway outside of Luna, Prompto and himself, his head turning as he recognized a few of them. Nyx was there, and so was that lady glaive he barely remembered. Crowe was it? Her eyes were a bright yellow and her skin greyer than Nyx’s. One was his math teacher back in Highschool and Prompto must have recognized the lady too, for he whispered her name out of pure habit.

“You boys shouldn’t be here,” the woman observed. “Bad timing.”

“What the hell is going…”

The tar falling from her eyes and nose took a life all of its own, like a parasitic entity stretching forward, and the other tar-berries shrieked, their bodies shifting, Prompto unable to hold back his panicked scream.

“Not again!”

Noctis understood this was the behavior that had gotten him to shoot at the tar-berries in the first place as bullets ripped through the air. Luna covered her ears, his arms holding her tighter as he let his armiger out. The undead were pushed back, one by one, but much to Noctis’s dread, they were getting back up despite their wounds, tar seeping out of their gaping cuts, having the same reaction as a daemon made out of shadows and air. The aggression was clear, the killing intent just the same and while the word “penalty” still rang in the air, all the noises the prince could hear were grunts of pain, gunshots and Luna’s ragged breath as he desperately held her to him.

“Don’t let go, Luna. Whatever happens, don’t you dare let go of me.”

He wanted to pray for her safety, but keeping his armiger up and running with all of his nine weapons rushing through the air without risking harming Prompto while also keeping the freaky monsters at bay… It was giving him a headache and his whole body shook from the effort. Using the armiger for too long made him anemic and it wasn’t time for weakness, but he had barely slept and… Luna’s light almost instantly shone against his chest, where her hands were clutching to his shirt and as his eyes were crimson, her eyes gold and their eyes that cold, cold yellow, Noctis realized he could do this. All he hoped was that his friends could too. Prompto stepped up closer to the pair, careful of shooting with only one gun so he wouldn’t deafen either of the royals.

“Iggy?” Noctis called out, barely able to determine which noise was coming from the adjacent room and which were the tar-berries or pieces of them falling down the stairs.

“Coming,” the advisor answered with a grunt.

“This is the most awful real-life simulation of a video game I’ve ever been through!,” Prompto squealed out, his voice raising as the black tar splashed around like blood and a few droplets hardened upon contact, stretching out to form a centipede-like net that started climbing up his leg, sending him to the floor in a panicked attempt to remove the thing from him.

Ignis nearly sprang out of the room then, Noctis unable to notice which one, merely parting his armiger to give his friend the chance to slip under the protection. The advisor was dragging Gladiolus with him, the Shield instantly noticing Prompto’s predicament and hurrying to his side.

“Damn vermin,” he groaned, cutting the net of tar with a pocket knife before lifting Prompto in the air and tossing him on his shoulder to make sure he would be out of reach from the thing. “Don’t step on it.”

“Hurry, this way,” Ignis ordered them, having quickly located and secured a passage towards the emergency exit.

Noctis begged for his friends to stay within the armiger’s width of protection and they soon realized that the only way to go was up. Noctis never let go of Luna, her light keeping him standing as the royal arms drew a curtain of metal between their little group and the tar-berries. Prompto was desperately trying to reload his guns and it was clear Gladio wanted to jump into the fray and hack through the undead until his rage was sated. He was only following them because Noctis’s armiger would have certainly picked him by the collar and forced him forward if he didn’t.

By the time they’d reached the roof, Luna was shaking like a leaf and Ignis offered her an ether, seeing as she was keeping Noctis’s magic working.

“What are we going to do?” Prompto asked, helping Gladiolus in shutting the exit door close on the face of the monsters.

“We need to leave this time,” the Shield declared.

Noctis looked around them, realizing that in all the panic, neither Umbra nor Pryna had followed them.

“My dogs…” Luna started.

“We didn’t see them in your room,” Ignis assured, quickly explaining how Gladiolus had jumped on their small balcony to come after his undead father.

“That’s…”

“We need to get a move on!” Prompto screamed.

Noctis exchanged a brief look with Luna, who was too pale, still breathless and damn was he doing a bad job at protecting her even now.

“They must have run to safety, don’t you think?” Noctis asked her, getting a light nod in answer.

“That’s what we need to do ourselves. I see movements on the roofs to our right. Well, my right,” Ignis added as he saw Noctis frowning after squinting his eyes.

They were all feeling lost, barely knowing Altissia and unsure if a safe place existed in this time.

“I might know a place,” Luna offered. “We have yet to understand what drove them here, but I’m pretty certain that this wouldn’t be happening if I hadn’t insisted on talking to Nyx…”

“It’s not the time for regrets and no one is going to blame you, Luna.”

“Hell, at least we had some warning,” Gladiolus groaned, being pushed forward by the swarm of bodies flinging themselves against the metal door. “I’ll go anywhere that isn’t here!”

Luna bit her lower lip, blood drawn when Noctis pulled her closer too roughly in reaction to jumpers hitting their roof.

“Shit! Where’s that place?”

Luna bit back on her yelp, her light flickering against Noctis’s chest.

“Make us cross to the north. I think I can find the way,” she explained.

“How are we going to cross?” Prompto asked, his panic almost sounding normal now.

Noctis had an idea but it felt crazy and he knew they weren’t going to like it.

“You’re going to have to trust me, guys.”

He lifted Luna in his arms, willing half of his swords to form a bridge while the rest remained moving to keep the zombies at bay.

“You can’t be serious!” Ignis exclaimed.

“You want to be swarmed or risk breaking your neck?!”

“Stop asking silly questions and move!” Gladio snarled, pushing Prompto forward before to insist. “Move, move, move!”

They had never run so fast, and Prompto cursed the whole time they walked on thin air, swearing he’d never be jealous of Noctis’s powers again. Luna took a second ether, keeping a third one in her hands as she held strong, so her prince could do the same. Her light was growing small and dim, and while the wind whipped their hair about, she had the feeling the night was swallowing them whole.

…

Lunafreya was ushered into the room right after Noctis, Prompto on her heels and Ignis already walking up to the windows while Gladiolus covered their rear. It didn’t seem necessary, since this hotel had been abandoned months ago and Luna knew it because that was where Ravus would take her whenever he wanted to make sure their discussions were private. She still jumped as the door was pushed closed and hastily locked behind her. Much to her own shame, she yelped as the prince’s Shield hurried around, ordering them to keep the lights off until he said otherwise.

They were all out of breath from running, all stressed out and she could feel their tense energy in the air, electrifying. Gladiolus inspected the place in a matter of seconds, calling the all-clear in the roughest voice his friends had ever heard him speak with.

All Luna could do at first was shiver between Noctis’s arms and hold on to his shirt, holding back on her plea to be left behind if the tar-berries were truly attracted by her. She wanted to test her theory, she wanted to know her prince and his friends could be safe, but the selfish, too human side of her wanted to be kept safe. She already knew what was waiting for her and the penalty all the undead kept talking about reminded her of old legends. About what the gods did to the Oracle who couldn’t listen properly.

_It’s fake, it’s all fake, Ardyn was the one to tell you about those and he’s…_

“Luna,” Noctis whispered her name.

She gasped, bringing one hand over her mouth as she worried making a sound, any sound could attract more of _them_.

“Luna, you need to calm down, okay?”

“We all do,” Ignis sighed. “Prompto, let go of that gun.”

The blond man was struggling with reloading his handguns, the clips clicking against the metal, the shock settling in while the adrenaline slowly deserted him.

“Sorry.”

“Shut up,” Gladiolus groaned, kicking a chair in his haste to cross the room and check the door they’d come through once more, testing its lock.

Luna’s eyes had gotten accustomed to the darkness and while her nerves were still raw, she took a minute to gather her surroundings, noticing how empty the room was. Two chairs by the bare counter, one couch that had seen better days in a corner, and empty bookcases collecting dust. She wondered if this was the specific floor where Ravus used to take her. He’d bring cold tea and sheets and helped her pass the time as she wondered when Noctis would make it here. Ignis shuffled across the room, giving a brief look into the bathroom and bedrooms that Gladiolus had already checked.

The silence was heavy between them and Luna wasn’t sure she could focus on Noctis when she felt such a heavy burden on the four men in the room. There was something about the people they’d seen she didn’t know, something beyond the brutal truth of seeing undead walking among the living. How terrifying was it to be alive among the dead…

Her voice didn’t work as she tried to whisper Noctis’s name, so she squeezed his hand, refusing to sit down as he gently nudged her shoulder, heaving a sigh at her stubbornness.

He was cut off in his attempt to convince her about taking some rest by Prompto checking on Gladiolus.

“Man, are you…” Prompto started.

“Don’t talk,” the Shield cut him off. “Your tar-monsters could be coming right now.”

They all sincerely hoped that they weren’t, because they doubted they could run like this once more. That fact they’d lost Umbra and Pryna weighed heavily on their mind, since without Umbra, there was no way they could head back to the present. Luna was still terrified by the possibility the present could be worse than this place.

Gladiolus stood still by the exit. So very still it was hard to say if he was still breathing without squinting. He’d fought his father, the notion Clarus had been killed in the fall of Insomnia thrown into his face on top of many contradictory feelings.

Luna’s eyes fell on his large frame, her magic sensing the turmoil in his heart. It was practically radiating from him.

“Gladio,” Ignis tried.

“I’m fine, don’t give me that look,” Gladio tried hard not to snap, his fists clenched and his shoulders shaking a little.

Luna distinctly heard Noctis swallowing as Prompto tried to talk sense into their friend.

“Dude, what’s happening is messed up, how can you…?”

“It’s not like I never wanted to throw my father off the third floor of a building!” Gladiolus bellowed, effectively obtaining silence. He blinked, his throat tightening as he saw the looks they were giving him. “The guy was always on my back, he was always…” his voice broke and he groaned in self-loathing, whipping about to punch at the nearest wall.

The paint crack and he cursed, since it seemed the walls were made of bricks underneath the drywall planks. Without thinking, he raised his other hand and punched the bricks once more, the cracking sound that followed making their stomachs twist.

“Gladio!” Noctis called out.

“I need to break something, okay?”

Prompto exchanged a worried look with Noctis, while Ignis shook his head, looking just as lost as the young prince. Luna found it hard to breathe, her chest oppressed by the very tension in the room. His father. Of all the undead who could show, the Shield had had to see and battle his own father. She stepped out of Noctis’s arms, surprised her legs held her on the few steps, stopping just when Gladio’s back was within reach.

“I’m sorry, Gladiolus,” she tried, her voice steady despite the shivers still running through her.

She had seen such an anger before. So many times.

“What does it change, huh?” The Shield shot back, his shoulders shaking as he tried to keep himself together.

“It changes nothing, but I am sorry. Hurting yourself will not make the pain go away.”

Gladio whipped about, his face scrunched up in a snarl, but his animosity died down when he felt the princess’s hands on his arm. Even in the dark room, she could make out his eyes shining with a haunted look. His nostrils flared and there was a twitch to his brow as he fought against the many thoughts colliding inside.

 “Your hands are bleeding. Give them here,” she asked, slipping back in the familiar field of treating someone’s wounds.

How many times had she bullied Ravus into accepting her light? How many times had she worked her magic on people who didn’t want to be helped but whose family begged her to the point she couldn’t say no anymore. She barely felt the weight of Noctis, Ignis and Prompto’s stares on her shoulders. All her focus was on the person suffering in front of her.

“I’m…”

“…not fine,” Luna finished for him. “Your knuckles are bruised and bloody.”

His mouth closed, and his eyes blinked twice, the warning laced deep within shifting as his shoulders lowered. It was no use confronting people about how they felt when they could barely put words on it. But blood was concrete and bruises she could fix.

“I don’t think you can reach my forehead,” he started, frowning as he looked for anything to keep his mind off what had happened.

That made her smile and while she should have been wary of the man in normal circumstances, she knew from Noctis’s letters that he was a kind, hard-working and devoted friend to her prince.

“Unless you lean over,” she said, surprising the four men as Gladio simply obeyed, not unlike a child would his mother. Her prayer was brief and his skin mended, but her very touch reached something deep within the Shield.

“I feel like a godsdamn freakshow, guys,” he managed as he started standing back up, clearly unable to handle his friends staring.

He wasn’t used to being weak in front of people, but Luna stood there, light still in her palms, her touch foreign in its softness.

“Why was my mother there next to him?” he asked, his voice lower as he furiously blinked, his chest rising too quickly.

Luna held her breath, remembering how hard it had been to lay her own mother to rest. She heard Noctis’s shock, she somehow sensed Ignis cursing and Prompto shuffling nervously and she could tell which one was doing what, but her eyes remained on Gladio as his words abounded. Like he couldn’t stop talking after keeping it all inside for the time they’d run.

 “She’s been dead for longer, she shouldn’t… I had to get them away when they broke in, but cutting them didn’t work, there was just more of that black tar everywhere and then she fell. Her neck was crooked, but she got back to her feet and her eyes…”

He gripped to the Oracle’s shoulders, his shaking growing worse.

“How am I going to tell Iris?”

The question was for no one in particular, but he sounded desperate and Luna wasn’t sure she could support that mountain of a man if he was to collapse. Noctis had taken a tentative step forward, but no one dared to move as Gladiolus’s walls cracked.

“She doesn’t need this, but how do I _not_ tell her?!”

Lunafreya bit her lips, her hand reaching up from the side of his face to his hair in a gentle stroke. She knew no words could comfort him, she almost wished she wasn’t a stranger so her touch could mean something, but her magic could only ease physical pain.

“It sounded like her. It sounded like both of them and…”

Gladiolus shuddered, his breath uneven and a broken sob escaped, making him angry and feeling even worse. She didn’t know him, but she knew his pain, because they were stuck in a world, in a time, that made no sense and seemed bent to toy with their feelings until nothing sacred was left untouched. She remembered Nyx. Remembered the faces of too many people she knew. People she hadn’t been able to save and couldn’t save now.

His eyes fell down with the first tears and Luna couldn’t help crying with him, even though the man dropped to his knees, clutching at her dress and threatening to bring her down with him. Instead, she stood, not tall, not strong, but steady.

“I didn’t mean to break her,” he said. “She looked at me as though she knew who I was, even with her neck all wrong… Why did it have to be my mom?”

Luna’s throat was too tight, and she wanted to apologize again, she wasn’t sure when she’d sank to sit on her heels to better hold him, but suddenly, Noctis was there next to her, talking to Gladio, trying to reach out to him while not knowing how. Prompto kneeled on the other side of the man, and through the pathetic sobbing, the Shield begged them to leave him be before finally giving up.

“If you want to blame someone, blame me,” Noctis tried apologizing. “I took you here.”

“And I protect you, Noct. I’ll be damned if I don’t.”

“You did a good job today,” Noctis assured him.

A sharp intake of breath was Noctis’s only warning before Gladio pushed him away a bit rougher than he’d intended.

“This is not the time for this… I’m stronger than…”

“Man, it’s okay to hurt,” Prompto told him. “We all do.”

Gladio angrily dried his eyes, over and over to no avail, accepting Prompto’s hug with a self-derisive chuckle, patting the blond man on the back and slowly getting to his feet, helping Lunafreya back up, his expression still quite haunted.

“Thank you, highness,” he said, voice hoarse.

“Luna is fine,” she assured him.

“Now, can we turn on the bloody light?” Ignis asked, giving an affected clap to Gladio’s shoulder.

“Oh, is that the extent of your empathy, Ig?” the Shield joked, pulling him in for a half hug that was more hard pats on the back than anything and left the advisor coughing.

“I was trying to lighten the mood. Poorly, I admit.”

But he gave Gladiolus a longer look, as though to apologize properly for not having the right words to counter his misery. The tallest man of the lot heaved a sigh, finally looking steadier on his feet. They all knew he was hurting and that the pain wouldn’t leave this quickly but allowing himself to speak up and have this brief breakdown had helped making it more manageable.

“I’d rather no one had any lights on if you can all deal with staying in the dark,” he started. “We all need rest.”

“Tomorrow, we need to decide how to deal with this.”

“And find the dogs,” Prompto added.

“I really wish I could have grabbed Pryna. She’s slower than she used to be,” Luna deplored.

“She’ll be fine,” Noctis promised. “Umbra is with her.”

“And we’ve all seen how the tar-berries would evade them,” Ignis observed.

Luna wanted to pick up on that fact, but her voice was too low and Gladio spoke faster.

“Right now, guys, we had better worry about what’s happening with us,” he reminded them. “As in, _not me_ , but how tired everyone is.”

“Oh come on, you went through something really traumatizing, if you need someone to snuggle with tonight…”

Prompto was teasing, but Gladiolus glared at him hard enough for the gunman to close his mouth and after making sure his friends all felt somehow fine and agreeing on a taking turns to watch out for potential undead, Noctis and Luna retired to one room, Ignis insisting on taking the first shift while Gladiolus threatened Prompto that he’d better stay in his own duffle.

“I think his manliness was endangered by that display of emotion,” Noctis joked around to reassure Luna about the way his friends were bantering.

It felt surreal to find themselves alone again and although sheepishly, Luna admitted she was terrified by the single window in their room, so Noctis made sure to cover it well, using the moldy sheets on the bed and grimacing as he considered the bed. He really didn’t want her to sleep on there and started pulling sleeping bags from his infinite pocket, turning on the light from his phone to see Luna better. She was toying with a stray lock of hair, twirling it anxiously.

“This was a really scary night,” he sighed. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t muster the strength to raise my trident and do something out there,” Luna objected.

“Are you kidding me? You fueled my armiger for over two hours. I can barely use it fifteen minutes normally and never with that many arms at once.”

Luna paled a little more, biting on her lower lip.

“As time wore on, it felt like your skin was crackling from over-using the armiger. Helping you was the least I could do. You’re stuck here because of me after all.”

“I came here of my own volition,” Noctis opposed her. “And if facing a zombie apocalypse is what it takes to hold you in my arms, I’m signing up.”

“This isn’t a movie,” Luna observed, sounding too serious. “I don’t know if this is real, but you and your friends have been getting hurt. What would happen to the present if any of you died here?”

Noctis froze an instant, and then a second more and a third as he slowly revisited the most recent events. Gladio’s breakdown. Ignis’s silence and the tears in his eyes the other day. Prompto who tried to stay strong for all of them, ever since Altissia, his blond friend had been pushing himself far too hard to hold them together… He was risking them all. His brothers. Not just their lives, but their sanity too. He wasn’t afraid of dying, for some reason, that had stopped worrying him somewhere during the battle against Leviathan. But losing any of his friends… Crestfallen, he tried to swallow it all back, because the idea any of them could be turned into those tar-berries.

“They survived Altissia, surely that means…”

Luna swallowed back the question that instantly came to her. What if taking her back to the present meant they had to pay a price for it? A _penalty_ …

“I’m sorry Noct, this was very inconsiderate of me. They’ll be fine,” she whispered, fingers wrung together, her eyes red but looking at him with a serious expression.

Her shoulders were still shaking, but it was hard to notice in the dark and Luna had barely shifted forward, so all he could see was her face, genuine worried about him.

“But maybe not,” he said. “You have a point. How can Gladio be fine after…”

He plopped himself on the nest of sheets and sleeping bags he’d made for her, his fingers tugging on his hair as he wrestled the idea. He was hurting them all by being selfish and he couldn’t even give Luna a reprieve by staying here with her. Were the tar-berries appearing here because of him? Was she suffering more because of him?

“Dear Noctis, please…”

“Don’t call me that!” he snapped, panic taking over as he remembered the words from that fading dream. Luna gaped at him and he noticed blood on her lip, which had him reaching for her face, his princess pulling away just enough for it to hurt. “Are you okay? I’m sorry for yelling, I...”

“No, it’s fine, I bit my tongue earlier. Maybe I should have done this now too…”

“Oh Luna… You didn’t say anything wrong, I’ve been risking my friends all the time on this journey, not just now. Losing them just feels more… more probable right now. And when you… I think after _passing…_ ,” he choked on the remaining word, shoulders slumping and a broken sob making its way up his throat, his hands reaching for hers desperately. Luna couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, because she knew now, and his pain was so raw, it resonated with a void threatening to devour her heart.

_I’m not dead. Please, let me be not dead yet._

“…you visited my dreams,” Noctis continued. “Calling me… You talked more to me in that dream than we’d had in… You’re here now, Luna, and I’m here and I don’t want to let anything, nor anyone, take that away from us.”

His tears spilled, and Luna wasn’t sure what to tell him or why the painful hole inside her filled up almost instantly. She wrapped her arms around him, fighting against her own tears as she whispered to his ear.

“Haven’t we cried enough? I’m certain you cried all the tears I could have wanted to shed and this time we have now, I’d like to make it count. I want to know I can make you happy now, in person, not just in letters. I want you ridiculously happy, Noct.”

Her hands had cupped his face and Noctis wanted to cry some more even though he struggled to hold himself together, managing a frail smile.

“I want you happy too.”

She smiled at him, her sweetest smile and he could believe in their happiness once more. All it took was them together.

To be continued...

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gladio is in bad shape and so are the guys. Noct/Luna fluff in next chapter, clearly, and more, but I don’t want to say anything more, because I don’t have anything planned yet. I wanted to put more Noct/Luna hurt/comfort here, but this chapter was getting long for Umbra’s standards. I swear, the dogs are fine, coming back soon.
> 
> Please review, you know how happy it makes me 


	10. Bold love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is pure smut because I had promised smut and it’s the first time I actually go in that much details on Noctis and Luna’s first time. I hope you’ll enjoy it! This chapter is exclusive to the AO3 version of this fic, you will eventually find a “clean” version on fanfiction.net, because rating.

_His tears spilled, and Luna wasn’t sure what to tell him or why the painful hole inside her filled up almost instantly. She wrapped her arms around him, fighting against her own tears as she whispered to his ear._

_“Haven’t we cried enough? I’m certain you cried all the tears I could have wanted to shed and this time we have now, I’d like to make it count. I want to know I can make you happy now, in person, not just in letters. I want you ridiculously happy, Noct.”_

_Her hands had cupped his face and Noctis wanted to cry some more even though he struggled to hold himself together, managing a frail smile._

_“I want you happy too.”_

“And pleased. And content. And laughing if possible,” she went on, finding the nerves to tickle his armpits which had him smiling for real this time, grabbing her hands as he tried resisting her surprise attack.

“We should be careful not to make too much noise. The guys need some sleep. And I want you rested and well.”

Luna promised not to tickle him again, drying his tears and shifting closer to him so she could taste the salt on his cheek. Something shifted inside of her, a realization that this might be her only chance and while she didn’t want to say it out loud, the urgency that came with that thought made her lean just a little harder into him, her lips finding his in the slow dance they had started to learn since his arrival in this time.

“You taste like blood,” he deplored as they parted for air.

“Which means I’m alive. Taste me more.”

Noctis flushed at the bold words, gasping as she pushed him down until he was lying on his back.

“What… whoa, Luna!”

“I want you, Noct. I’ve wanted your arms around me and…” She blushed despite her resolve, swallowing back her own shyness, her hands deftly tugging at the buttons of his shirt, slowly uncovering his chest. Her eyes were focused on her task and Noctis wasn’t sure how to react.

Her words were doing things to him, and the very touch of her fingertips on his skin lit the fire he had quelled again and again as he longed for her.

“And…?” he couldn’t help asking her, blushing as much as she did when she shook her head in answer. The lust on her face felt contagious and her voice hummed in approval as his own hands wandered along her ribcage, cupping one breast through her clothes -she gasped but smiled at him, holding on his wrist to make sure he’d understand the touch was welcome. “Luna, are you really…?”

“I don’t want to miss this chance. If this was your last night with me, what would you want to do, Noct?”

His eyes widened, the flush getting to his ears, even though he could tell his blood was going south. Way, way south. She had to sense it and he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to hide or not hide his reaction.

“I…”

“It’s okay, dear Noctis. Let your body react to mine.”

She teased both of his nipples, loving the small gasps that escaped him at the stimulations, following the pressure of his hand on her hip to shift the weight she was putting on him. She was straddling him, pulling her dress higher on her legs to have less fabric keeping them apart. Her breathing was too fast and he wasn’t sure how to answer. Her urgency scared him, but could he risk missing this chance of truly being with her? If he only had one night to love her, if…

“I don’t want to think you won’t…”

Luna guided his hands to her thighs, leaning forward as he rose on one elbow, his throat too tight, lips tingling.

“Tell me,” she cut him off, biting on her lower lip as his hands moved up on her body, pushing the fabric of her dress higher. “There’s no need to hold back. I don’t care how much time we have, I don’t want regrets when the sun comes up.”

He couldn’t stand it anymore, holding her closer so their lips could clash together, his tongue demanding and hungry for more of her. Luna moaned into his mouth, her hands finding his scalp while he pulled the dress high enough for their chests to meet skin to skin. She felt warm, warm which meant she was alive and that thought alone…

He didn’t want to imagine her like those tarberries, he didn’t want to lose sight of the beautiful woman she was or for his memories of her to be tainted if she were to start crying black tar like they all did.

“Stop my brain from worrying so I can focus on you, Luna.”

“You haven’t answered me yet. How bold must I get to encourage you?” she teased him, her hips grinding into his for just an instant.

The way he closed his eyes and barely contained a groan told her she was on the right track.

“I want… to touch you everywhere,” he started. “To learn every curve. Every sound.”

“Me too.” Her hands gripped his biceps and he huffed as her nails dug into his skin.

They had both been starved, so starved for any kind of intimacy, for a touch they wanted. He knew strangers had touched her, she still had bruises which made him worry some of her moans weren’t good, but she was tugging on his pants now and it was both terrifying and exhilarating.

He guided her head back to him, kissing her hard, wondering if he could be soft again when he felt so raw. He rolled them to the side, finding her bare breast and hardly holding back from squeezing her soft flesh. He wanted to kiss a path down her neck, to tease her pale skin with his teeth like she grazed him with her nails, but her tongue stroking his was mesmerizing. They parted for half a minute, a tread of saliva connecting them for a brief instant.

Luna seemed shocked by the realization, but Noctis was too far gone to fully notice, he dove in for more, towering above her. She tensed against him, instantly alarming the young man.

“You okay?”

He’d been careful of not putting any weight on her and Luna shook her head.

“I want this,” she assured him. “I know I’m safe here. This is just… overwhelming.”

“I don’t want to trigger bad memories,” he whispered to her, cupping her face.

“You won’t.”

“I don’t know what I’m doing, Luna,” he confessed.

“Well, it is my first time too.”

He swallowed, and she offered him a frail smile. He couldn’t help but kiss her, in soft, quick pecks this time, leaning his forehead against her.

“You really want me?” he asked.

“I do. But I might need… more control?” she sounded disappointed in herself saying that.

“You seemed confident when you were on top of me,” Noctis mused, grinning as her face flushed a little more.

“I am the older one, so I guess I should do the teaching for this.”

Her eyes were resolute, and her hands undid his belt buckle, Luna stroking his erection tentatively through his jeans. It was enough for Noctis to struggle out of his pants so he was left sitting in nothing but his boxers.

“Please teach me,” he blurted out, both of them laughing at his eagerness.

“On your back,” Luna asked back, frowning as she realized how much like an order that sounded. “I mean…”

“You wanted me to tell you what I wanted, sounds fair that you’d do the same. Can the dress go?”

He punctuated his question by obediently lying down on his back and Luna felt her heart swell at the confidence and respect he had for her. She tried to make quick work of her dress, pulling the bunched-up fabric off her head, her hair falling wildly against her shoulders as she kneeled by his side. The room was so dark, Noctis tried squinting his eyes to actually see her, because if this was the only time he got to see her naked, he wanted to burn every detail in his mind.

“I can barely see you,” he sighed.

Luna felt her cheeks heating up even more, whispering back.

“I still have bruises.”

“Better that I see them so I hold you without causing pain. Let me grab my phone…”

“Wait. Maybe I could…”

She called upon her magic for the briefest moment, her fingertips glowing and Noctis caught a quick view of how disheveled and beautiful she looked, cursing mentally for needing to blink.

“Don’t tease me.”

“I’m not,” she apologized. “I just worry my magic could attract…”

“I don’t think it works that way. Earlier, you hadn’t used any magic, they just barged in without any provocation.”

He sat up, reaching for her and pulling her on his lap, stroking her hair and smiling as her hand lit up once more, not fading at all.

“I want to see you too,” Luna confessed, cupping his face to get a better look at his eyes.

The magic glow threw shadows all over the room, but there was something soft about her light, somehow the despair pushing them together was shifting to the love they shared and made them feel safer than they were. For just one night, they wanted to pretend time had stopped. His lips found hers then, their sighs and moans shifting as their hands tried to learn everything they could. Which touch made her shiver, where her nails grazing him had him react with a groan or a shuddering breath.

“I don’t see anything,” Noctis complained after a dozen more kisses, tasting her smile against his.

“Fine, fine, I’ll show you.”

Luna gently pushed him back down, sitting on her heels as she righted herself and let her right hand trace the curves of her own body, the soft light making it all the more erotic. She had to brace herself with her left arm, her eyes trained to his so she could gauge every reaction as he took her in at the pace she set. She started at her neck, following a path between her breasts, drawing a circle over her flat stomach, shifting to outline her hip. Noctis was panting beneath her, and she knew it wasn’t from their previous kisses, which only made her bolder despite how nervous she felt.

“Like what you see?”

He nodded, biting on his lower lip.

“You’re going a bit fast though. May I…?”

He reached for her wrist and she nodded her consent, looking down at herself as he guided her hand to the spots he wanted. Her breasts came first, which made her laugh until he complimented her on the shade of her skin. Marveled at freckles and the small tuft of hairs hiding under the panties he pulled down without asking. Not that he needed to at this point.

“You’re so soft everywhere…” he sighed.

He made her sound amazing and she wanted to hide so much, it was hard to tell how she could stand the weight of his staring without bolting.

“It almost feels wrong to touch you,” he confessed.

“I’m this close of jumping out of my skin, so please,” she breathed out. “Hold me together.”

She didn’t have to ask him twice. Noctis shifted forward, his hands bolder than before, heavier too and soon followed by his mouth. He was eager to taste her and while overwhelmed, Luna welcomed the attention, because it somehow eased her quivering heart. His touch was electricity on her skin, her nerves tingling in answer to his caresses. Certain brushes were clumsy, but they were both learning and Noctis was quite attentive to every little sound she made.

A tweak, a gentle flick, his lips sucked, and his tongue teased, and she wasn’t sure which she preferred between his mouth or his hands. Either way Luna couldn’t help wanting more, arching against his touch, holding his head to her, filled with wanton lust. She wanted to touch him back but felt lost now that he proved just as bold as her. It was an undignified struggle to get both of their underwear out of the way and when his erect cock brushed against her hip, she was too overwhelmed to handle it, gently pushing him back.

“It’s my turn to see you,” she decided.

They were both panting and beyond flushed now, but Noctis blinked at her, intimidated as he realized her hands were still alight.

“O…okay.”

Her eyes widened a bit as her fingers stopped on his inner thighs. And his bare cock that stood proudly, precum oozing at the tip. She looked up to him, her brief inner panic eased by how flustered he was.

“We can…” he started, his voice dropping as the light in her hands dimmed.

She gave him one slow stroke, from base to tip and Noctis’s breath caught in his throat. He had imagined and fantasized a lot of things, but…

“I’m going to need a few tips,” she blurted out.

“You said you’d do the teaching,” he whispered back, gasping as she took hold of him with both hands. “Okay, maybe… careful with your nails?”

She would have chuckled, but he sounded so vulnerable…The gravelling in his voice did things to her. Things she couldn’t put into words outside of the clenching in her lower stomach and how excited she felt despite how anxious she also was.

“Alright. Here goes nothing?”

Had she said that out loud?! How lame could she be?

Noctis held her wrists and gave them a light squeeze. She reciprocated, not sure if it was a pointer or just him trying to encourage her, but his growl sounded approving and his hands moved up and down. At first it was too dry, too rough, Noctis biting back a yelp and stopping her, but he cut off her apologies by wrapping an arm around her and claiming her mouth, his free hand guiding hers. Not for long, just until she was confident enough. Then his eyes were stuck in a haze and he barely managed a few words between the panting she got out of him.

“Let me touch you,” he pleaded.

The hand he’d kept between them to tease her breasts in turns had drifted along her stomach and Luna felt a quiver of excitement at the thought. Surely a princess should feel ashamed of acting like she did, but she had worked her naked prince into a hot mess beneath her and it might be her only chance to feel him this way.

“I’m going to need help staying upright,” she admitted, his hand instantly finding her hip and holding her as she rose herself, refusing to let go of his swollen cock.

“You don’t have to… shit, Luna, I won’t last all night if you…”

“Surely my light can reinvigorate you,” she teased. “And I… I like the idea of keeping you on edge while you…”

She couldn’t quite phrase it into words, so instead she brought his free hand to her sex, heaving a rough breath when his index brushed against a wet fold. She was too worked up to let him explore her, instead, she guided him right to her clit and Noctis followed her lead, replacing his index finger with his thumb and drawing a rough circling motion against the tiny nub of flesh.

“Oh gods…” she gasped.

“Was that…?”

“I’ve never felt… It’s…”

His touch was different from her own and she felt embarrassed to admit maybe she had touched herself a few times in her life, maybe she even had while thinking of him, so she simply gripped his wrist to make sure he wouldn’t deprive her of this.

Noctis was shocked to say the least, because while it was hard to focus on how he touched her with the steady pace at which she stroked him, the thought they were both doing this to each other, the shuddering gasps and needy rolls of her hips he kept hearing and sensing… Damn was she hot!

“Can I…? Is deeper okay?”

Luna nodded, any modesty gone, and she simply begged that he didn’t make her scream. Now he wanted to hear her scream just from his hand. One finger inside of her became two, his thumb not letting her clit alone for even an instant, the princess digging her nails in his thighs as she felt a third finger. Her walls clenched around him and as she whimpered, Noctis brought her closer to him so he could kiss her silent and maybe hide his own moans inside her mouth.

“I need you, like _freaking_ now,” he told her.

“I’m way too sensitive right now.”

“How do you think I feel?”

Luna couldn’t help a smug smile at that.

“You’re quite the ego booster for this princess, Noct.”

Her palms pressed against his lower stomach as she shifted to straddle him once more, testing the feeling of his cock brushing against her folds. Her flesh was still a mess of quivers and shivers, but his hips desperately thrusted forward.

“Can’t handle the wait anymore?”

“I’ve waited far too long,” he bit back, to which Luna shook her head at him.

“I don’t think you realize how long _I_ have waited.”

He winced at that, apologies written all over his face, because she’d been an adult for far longer than him and as pure as the Oracle was, she had needs. He was just starting to discover how many.

“I’m yours now, Luna.”

“And I’m yours. I just want to love you right. My hips are starting to hurt,” she admitted.

He stroked her waist, gently shifting her around in the hope it would help, playfully grabbing her ass for just a bit, to which she pinched his buttock. Noctis looked up to her with wide eyes when he heard a small snapping sound.

“Was that…?!”

“God, my hip feels so better now,” she cut him off, covering her mouth with one hand. “Not quite sexy, I guess…”

“I doubt I look like anything other than a mess right now. And you’re hot. All flushed and your lips swollen. Every one of your lips it seems.”

She gave him a light slap, to which Noctis retorted with a kiss, but since he was still the one lying down, he insisted on seeing everything as she started lowering herself on him. Luna had to guide his cock into her and it felt embarrassing enough, but it was strangely arousing to do so with him staring at her as if he was in a trance. She felt impatient for their connection, she was eager to feel the delicious throbbing and jolts of pleasure he’d given her earlier and he felt warm inside.

“We can go slow,” he tried comforting her as he worried she’d hurry things up for his sake.

His voice was so raw, he barely recognized it, but Luna sounded different too right now.

“I don’t want to go slow,” she objected. “I just need… to get used to the feel of…”

It was hard to keep his instinct of burying himself inside of her in check, because while her hands had felt good, this tightness was… She was warm and wet and his and he needed more of her! But he was following her lead and he’d be damned if he screwed this up now.

“Does it hurt?” they asked each other at the same time, not moving, simply joined and frantic to find the right motions to change the pent-up need they still felt into pure exaltation.

“Just a bit,” he admitted. “You?”

“There’s a light burn to this. But I like the impression…”

As she said that, she lifted her hips and pushed herself further down. Noctis’s eyes clenched shut, his teeth clicking together.

“Which… impression?” he managed somehow.

Her hips jerked up and down once more and she panted on the words.

“You… inside me…” she gasped into her hand as he met her motion with a thrust, loving the groan rumbling in his throat. “Hold me, Noct.”

He held her, half sitting up, their foreheads meeting, his lips asking and her lips begging as their mutual need took over. He caressed her, kissed her, while she nibbled on his neck, biting into his shoulder when a thrust was too strong. There was a fire growing inside of her, a fire asking to burst out of its shell and her skin was fire, his hands were her air, her fuel, his lips holding hers, crushing her, soothing her.

It felt raw, and desperate, but she knew it was theirs and nothing could break it, not the bruises on her skin or the scars that marred his body. When Noctis came, his seed spilling inside of her, Luna welcomed it, trying to note how the tension that had grown within him started to fade. Her own climax was a ripple, mirroring the wave he’d brought her through earlier, and his fingers made sure the ripple rolled over her, washing away soreness and pain to leave her in a state of pure ecstasy. Their whispers had shifted, their sighs too high, her voice threatening to come out while he groaned despite how quiet he knew she wanted them to be.

She refused to let go of him afterwards, panting against his chest and muttering nonsense in her daze, Noctis holding her close, his hands in her hair, rubbing her back and his lips kissing her temple and shoulder in turns.

“I love you,” he said, unsure any other words could be enough to describe how he felt.

“I love you, Noct.” Her voice broke a little. Reality was coming back to her. “I love you so much, I don’t want to…”

“Luna, please, please, I’m here, you can ask me anything.”

“Don’t leave without me. I need more of you. All of you.”

“Oh Luna… Luna, don’t cry, we were just pretending if this was our last night together, it’s only a beginning.”

“I’m sorry, you felt so sweet just now, I…”

“Luna…”

She tried to keep her tears under control, to swallow back the sobs because it wasn’t the time, she’d said so herself.

“Love me more?”

“Always.”

“I meant… I meant now,” she clarified, flushing in between her tears.

“Now _and_ always,” Noctis insisted. “Dry those tears first, my princess.”

It took everything he had to keep his own tears at bay, but he still held the conviction in his heart that she could make it out of here alive. He laid her down in their makeshift bed, holding her close as he gently tamed her fears for the future to have her focusing on their present. They made love until sleep claimed them, snuggled close, their dreams filled with each other. It was safer than they’d ever felt in a while.

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The smut intermission of this fic is now done! Now, do you think the chocobros heard any of this while they were trying to fall asleep in the rest of the apartment? You’ll learn that, and more, in the next chapter!


End file.
